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Elon Musk’s unmanned Starship prototype went boom after launch, lighting up the Caribbean sky like a meteor shower. The debris diverted at least 20 commercial flights. Imagine being on a plane and seeing that. It wasn’t a total disaster, though. The 233-foot-tall booster made it back to the launchpad in one piece. They’re already planning to try again.
Tags: disaster, Elon Musk, SpaceX
Google could stop this, but they don’t: At the top of its search results for Google Ads are fake sites that collect your real login info. Fall for one, and hackers can take over your Google Ads account to post their scam URLs — or just sell your info to other criminals. Make sure 2FA for Google Ads is on to detect strange logins. More smarts like this are coming soon in my small-biz newsletter.
Learning Chinese on Duolingo compared to this time last year. With the TikTok ban looming and so many people running over to another Chinese app, RedNote, they likely need a crash course. RedNote is in Mandarin by default. Duolingo downloads are up 36%, too.
Something new to try: ChatGPT’s scheduled tasks feature is rolling out now for paid accounts. Pick a suggestion (e.g., “Send me a daily horoscope”) or create your own task, like “Give me a weather report on Saturday mornings before my long run.” In the app, go to your profile > Tasks. On a browser, hit the gem icon (top right corner) > Tasks.
Oh, Deere: The FTC and state attorneys general of Illinois and Minnesota are suing John Deere for making their high-tech tractors impossible for farmers and third-party mechanics to fix, even after they promised to in 2023. The machines can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and come with massive repair bills as they age. I found a mechanic online saying they charged $12,000 for a $2,000 job.
🎮 Nintendo used to make the Wii, but It’s time for a Switch: The Nintendo Switch has sold over 146 million units since its 2017 debut, second only to the Nintendo DS. A new trailer shows the first console morphing into the fancy Nintendo Switch 2. The screen is bigger and the Joy-Cons snap magnetically instead of sliding. There’s no release date yet, so you have time to begin saving.
😡 Throw away the key: This is awful. A woman is in jail for poisoning a one-year-old with old medicine the baby didn’t need and posting social media videos about how much pain the baby was in. She raked in over $37,000 in donations before she was arrested and charged with torture and child exploitation. Police didn’t say if she’s the kid’s mom, but, either way, the little one is safe now.
✈️ No more putting it off: After years of delays, we have a real deadline. Starting May 7, you’ll need a Real ID or an approved alternative (like a U.S. passport or permanent resident card) to pass through TSA checkpoints in the U.S. Pro tip: In some places, you can book a DMV appointment online to avoid the big line.
Steer clear: Willow, a company that fronts bill money to customers, left over 240,000 private records in a non-password-protected database. It included customers’ names, numbers, transaction amounts, bank account details and partial credit card numbers. This is why I never recommend hot, new finance apps.
🚘 Foreign tech crackdown: New cars are rolling computers with cameras, microphones and GPS tracking. Now, think about those features being weaponized to control your vehicle. Hello, national security risk. That’s why the U.S. is banning Chinese and Russian auto software starting with 2027 models and hardware for 2030 vehicles.
Adults under 35 who say products invade their sleep. Imagine when the tech exists for advertisers to get in on their own, not just relying on what you saw while awake. “Tonight’s rest is sponsored by …”
