New app limits kids bathroom breaks

Don’t buy this now: Google’s just announced six new Chromebooks, including their AI-enabled Chromebook Plus line. With a Chromebook Plus laptop, you���ll get AI wallpapers, an AI text and photo editor, and Google’s Gemini AI assistant built in for as low as $429. Not bad, but I wouldn’t shell out for a first-gen AI laptop. They’ll only get better.

For a Mitsubishi Electric robot to solve a Rubik’s Cube. For context, 0.3 seconds is about the blink of an eye. The bot record is 10 times faster than the best-ever human time of 3.13 seconds.

Is nothing sacred? YouTube is cracking down on ad blockers. If you have one enabled in your browser, YouTube might skip straight to the end of the video you’re attempting to watch, play it without audio or just refuse to load the video altogether. The only fix? Disable your ad blocker for YouTube or pay $13.99 for YouTube Premium. Ugh.

🕹️ Told ya this would happen: I wish I was in the business of selling police drones. The Denver Police Department will soon deploy drones to respond to 911 calls. They’ll use them to map areas before their officers show up and send live video footage back to assess the situation. Watch for all departments to get a fleet of drones.

Social media is overrun with pics and videos of celebs: These product endorsements are mostly AI-generated scams. Recently impersonated? Jennifer Lopez pushing skincare, Tom Hanks promoting a dental plan and MrBeast hawking iPhones. Don’t fall for it. Look for reviews, don’t buy directly from social media, and stick to well-known brands.

What are the odds? A San Diego woman found out she had three felonies during a routine background check that relies on people-search databases. The charges, dating back to 2014, included burglary, identity theft and possession of a controlled substance. Turns out, she’s innocent. The real culprit shares her exact name and birthday.

🚨 Grooming is a big problem: A Georgia man was sentenced to life in prison after he stalked and almost killed a 15-year-old girl. The two met on Snapchat, where he chatted with her until she invited him over. He showed up with duct tape, rope and a knife and sexually assaulted her before stabbing her 86 times. She survived but will likely suffer a lifetime of anguish. Please, I’m begging you to watch your kids.

Power move: T‑Mobile is shelling out $4.4 billion to acquire almost all of UScellular’s network and customers and compete with the Big Two (Verizon and AT&T). If you have UScellular or T‑Mobile, expect better 5G service across the country, especially in rural areas. UScellular customers can keep their current plan or switch to T‑Mobile.

Time per day the average person spends “dreamscrolling.” This is when someone’s looking at things online they can’t afford and want to own someday. That time-suck works out to an average of 36 days of “dreamscrolling” a year. I can think of 50 better uses for my time.

🖼️ Hackers are branching out: The same hackers who infiltrated half of all Americans’ records in the recent Change Healthcare breach are at it again. They’re planning to leak names, ID numbers and birthdates from 500,000 wealthy clients at Christie’s auction house unless Christie’s pays up.