🎃 Someone could kick in your front door this Halloween

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🤯 WOW! Teens are kicking front doors as hard as they can, then running, filming their pranks for TikTok. Police in Massachusetts, Florida, Texas, Kansas and Oregon have all issued warnings. One Florida sheriff put it bluntly: “Somebody is going to get killed. This isn’t funny.”

The Short Version: Check your doorbell cam plan, aim the camera at faces, leave the porch light on and never open a door being kicked. Learn more below.

📖 Read time: 2 minutes

Saturday night, your doorbell will ring a few hundred times. Princesses, zombies, one kid dressed as a taco. Fun.

But some Halloween mischief makers might not bother to knock. Teens are kicking people’s front doors as hard as they can, running and filming themselves. It’s called the Door Kick Challenge, a souped-up version of ding-dong ditch. Westborough, Mass., police issued a warning last week after several reports.

The trend has also hit Florida, Texas, Kansas and Oregon. In Kansas, Merriam police called it a “reckless TikTok challenge” built to “mimic a home invasion.” Ring footage shows one teen kicking a door while a buddy films.

You hear a boom at 2 a.m. You don’t think “prank.” You think “break-in.”

Halloween weekend is prime time. Lots of kids out after dark and plenty of cover.

Your camera is your best witness, but only if it’s set up right. Do this before Saturday:

And the big one: If your door gets kicked, don’t open it and don’t chase anybody. Call 911. Talk to your teens before Saturday. Tell them this “prank” can get them arrested, injured or worse.

One more thing: When is a door not a door? When it’s ajar. (Oh that was so bad it was good!)

📩 Send this to someone who has a teenager headed out on Halloween night.

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Forget ordinary jack-o’-lanterns. We’re talking about enormous, prize-worthy pumpkins that can weigh hundreds of pounds! There’s an app to help you grow one, and I have the scoop on this wonderfully weird intersection of technology and Halloween.

Watch now before everyone else is talking about it. 👇 

▶️ Watch on YouTube →

📂 The ex-files: Get this. TV producer Randall Kerr, who won an Emmy for a “swatting” report, got charged with stalking his ex-wife, longtime WRAL news anchor Lynda Loveland. He was arrested days after the divorce. She says he monitored her texts and emails, tracked her location and allegedly did repeated drives near her home. That’s not a conviction, but let this be your reminder to treat shared account access like spare house keys. Change the locks after a breakup. The digital ones too.

🩹 Mind the crease: Are you one of the few people with an iPhone Duo staring at a cracked screen? Before you pay someone to fix it, check whether Apple owes you a replacement. Apple has acknowledged display fractures on the iPhone Duo and authorized free swaps for affected owners. I’d contact Apple before authorizing any repair. Fold the phone, not your wallet.

🦴 Your joints shouldn’t slow you down: Stiff knees? Achy joints? I recommend ImproveLife Joint Support. It targets three major factors behind discomfort: cartilage thinning, inflammation and reduced joint fluid. Made in the USA with premium, clinically studied ingredients to support mobility, flexibility and everyday comfort. Save up to 40% today, plus free shipping. Keep moving!**

🤫 Hush money, literally: Imagine losing sleep to 69 gas turbines, then getting a home offer from the company running them. In Southaven, Miss., xAI agents are targeting 418 homes, according to a realtor, with contracts barring sellers from joining a noise lawsuit. Eighteen owners reportedly agreed, while county records confirm five sales so far. Homes average about $180,000. xAI denies the allegations, added sound barriers and says a permanent power facility next summer should quiet things down. That’s one expensive earplug. I see these going up all over Phoenix.

🩺 A chatbot is not a doctor: Picture being in China, watching a friend enter your daughter’s Seattle apartment to find her dead. I can’t shake that scene. The family of a Chinese woman, 31, who died from an epilepsy complication alleges ChatGPT advised her how to stop seizure medication, reassuring her despite warning signs. Isolated and worried about medication clouding job interviews, she’d turned to something that always answered her. Thinking about changing a medication? Call your doctor or pharmacist first, every time.

🏡 Home is where the Beam is: I love this. If you have kids or a loved one deployed on duty, grab a tissue. Google and the USO are bringing Google Beam booths to 20 locations worldwide, making family members appear life-size in 3D, with eye contact and no headset. A pilot connected Fort Bliss, Texas, with troops in Poland, where one soldier saw how much his newborn daughter had grown. You can’t hug through a screen, but for a few minutes, that empty chair might feel a little less empty.

⚡️ 3-second tech genius: You can ask YouTube about the video you’re watching on TV. On supported smart TVs, press Up or Down on the remote to show the video details, then select the Spark icon. Pick a suggested question or use the microphone to ask your own. The AI can explain the part you need help with. Beats replaying the confusing bit twice.

🍏 Have you updated your phone to iOS 27.2? Siri’s much smarter. She can now recall conversations, so you can ask about a recommendation she gave you before. You can also ask her about photos in messages. For example, “Show me that white car I sent Zac the other day. What car is it?” Get it under Settings > General > Software Update.

🔄 Don’t forget about your Mac to macOS 27.2: This one’s a biggie. It fixes over 200 security flaws, making it one of the biggest patches yet. Go to System Settings > General > Software Update. I’ll cover the new features over the coming days, but the first thing I noticed? The bigger volume and brightness controls. They almost look touchable. 🤔

📉 Instagram views suddenly fell off a cliff? Check for account restrictions in Settings and activity > More info and support > Account Status. Green checkmarks mean you’re in good standing. Otherwise, you may find that posts can’t be recommended to non-followers, which could explain the drop. Think IG got it wrong? Tap Request a Review.

🔊 I’d rather listen, thanks: Chrome on Android can turn an article into a mini podcast. Open one, tap three dots > Listen to this page and get a conversation about it instead of a word-for-word reading. Audio keeps playing while you browse other tabs or lock your phone. It won’t work on every site, but it makes washing dishes less dull.

💻 Slow laptop? Windows’ fancy animations can slow your PC down. Search for View advanced system settings, then under Advanced > Performance, click Settings and choose Adjust for best performance. It’ll look plainer, but things may feel a little snappier. Still cooked? 😅 Might be time for an upgrade. Here are the options I’d consider.

Ever wish you could grab the TV remote without getting off the couch? Have I got something for you. 

Meet Stringman, a $795 mini robot that hangs from your ceiling using four motorized strings. Think of it as a tiny claw machine for your house, except instead of winning a stuffed animal, it can pick up stuff you’ve dropped on the floor. You can even connect it to an AI assistant to control it.

Check it out here. Finally, technology that understands the emotional toll of standing up.

🎓 What you learned today: A dangerous door-kicking trend has police warning parents, shared accounts can become stalking tools after a breakup, Google’s 3D booths are bringing military families closer and Apple may cover iPhone Duo crease cracks. Not bad for one email. Your favorite movie on streaming might not be the version you remember. Tomorrow, I’ll show you how to spot stealth edits, muted lines and cut content before movie night.

🐕 The answer: C) No, it only works when someone scans it. That tiny chip in your dog is not a GPS tracker, a Bluetooth beacon or some elite CIA pet surveillance system. (Sorry, Fido. No secret agent clearance.)

It has no battery and no way to broadcast a location. It just holds an ID number. When a vet or shelter scans it, that number points to your contact info in a registry Simple? Yes. Powerful? You bet. Microchipped stray dogs get home at more than double the rate of strays without one.

The #1 reason chipped pets don’t make it home is an old phone number. You moved, switched carriers or ditched the landline, and the registry never heard about it.

Fix it in 5 minutes:

If your pet ever goes missing, head straight to PetcoLoveLost.org. Upload a photo and its AI facial recognition scans shelters nationwide for a match. It has helped reunite hundreds of thousands of pets with their families.

Now go update that chip. A dog with an outdated number? That’s a real ruff call.

🛡️ Hackers never take a day off. Your protection shouldn’t either. Scammers, ransomware and sneaky malware are hunting for a way in 24/7. Webroot Essentials works quietly in the background, stops threats before they hit and won’t bog down your computer. (No more waiting forever for your PC to wake up.) My readers get it for only $17.49 a year. That’s less than a pizza. Lock it down.**

Kim Komando • Komando.com • 510+ radio stations • Trusted by millions daily

🏆 THE KIM CHALLENGE: Forward this to ONE person who needs to hear it today. Pick the person who popped into your head while reading. You know who it is.

Photo credit(s): ChatGPT/Kim Komando, Blink, Aurzen, @VMises76153 via X

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