💍 Your ring, you burn

Welcome to your Thursday, {{first_name | friend}}. You know demand is through the (sun)roof when you find out this particular buyer is placing bulk orders. Elon Musk says the Cybertruck has “a gigantic” backlog, but who’s buying them all? 

🚙 Can you guess who reportedly plans to buy a whole fleet of Cybertrucks? Is it: A) The Marines, B) SpaceX, C) Ford or D) The city of Los Angeles? Scroll to the end for the answer, and no peeking, backseat driver!

🎯 You’ve got pull. I want to learn what you think about privacy. As a thank-you, you’ll be entered to win a $100 Amazon gift card. 👉 Take the three-minute survey now, I can’t wait to see what you say! — Kim

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Recently here in The Current, I mentioned a YouTuber who ended up in the ER because of a smart ring. A bunch of you left me comments asking the same thing: “How does that even happen?”

Let me explain, because this wasn’t the guy’s fault. It was a complete tech failure.

Daniel Rotar was testing Samsung’s new Galaxy Ring on a flight from the UK to Hawaii. Mid-flight, the ring started to feel snug. Then it got tighter. And tighter.

By the time he landed for a connecting flight, it was stuck. He couldn’t twist it off. Before you think, “That happens to people on long flights, they retain water,” nope.

He’s a young guy, fit, not overweight.

The battery inside had swollen, and the ring locked onto his finger. He flagged down a TSA agent, worried it might be seen as a risk. The agent told him to head straight to the hospital.

At the ER in Honolulu, doctors had to cut the ring off. Rotar filmed the whole ordeal, and the video went viral on his YouTube channel. But this is more than a one-off story.

Smart rings use lithium-ion batteries, the same type found in your phone or laptop. But in a ring, the battery is packed into a tight metal band that wraps around your finger with no room for expansion.

When that battery degrades or malfunctions, it can swell. In a phone, it pushes out the back. In a ring, it pushes into your skin. It’s not about body size or hand shape. It’s about a flawed design.

It’s not just this one Galaxy Ring. People who use an Oura Ring have reported similar problems such as swelling, cracking and sudden battery drops from days to hours. And once the battery starts to fail, you can’t replace it. The whole ring is toast.

Smart rings are exciting tech for sure. But I’ll stick with my Apple Watch Series 11, thank you.

⚠️ Know someone wearing a smart ring (or thinking about it)? Tap the icons below to email them this story or share it on your socials. It might save them a trip to the ER.

Thomas got pickpocketed at a bar. Using Apple’s Find My to track his phone down, he watched it go from a pawn shop to a church … and then all the way to China. Plus: Mark Zuckerberg’s AI manifesto, Epstein video updates and why you might soon get delivery in 15 minutes or less.

Listen on Komando.com →

🎧 Or listen now on your favorite platform:

🙊 ChatGPT, talk dirty to me: Sam Altman just said ChatGPT’s about to get intimate. Like, actual adult conversations, and I’m not talking mortgages and tax season. Part of an attempt to relax safety restrictions and a “treat adults like adults” plan, your friendly little chatbot is going to allow things like erotica for “verified adults.” Translation: The bots are getting lonely.

Doubling down on dumb: So this lawyer in New York trusted AI to write his court brief, and guess what, it invented fake cases. But here’s the kicker: When the judge asked him to explain, he used AI again. I can’t decide if that’s guts or pure delusion. We’ve entered the “My AI did my homework” era of law.

🏕️ From campfires to code fires: Scouting America (yep, the rebranded Boy Scouts) launched AI and cybersecurity badges. Scouts learn about deepfakes, algorithmic bias and how to train (not just talk to) chatbots. The cybersecurity badge teaches password safety, phishing defense and digital citizenship. Forget tying knots. “Be prepared” now means knowing how to spot fake news and fake faces.

Goldman Sachs expects gold to hit $4,900 per ounce by December 2026. I own gold, and you should have some, too. Get Goldco’s free kit, The Ultimate Guide to Gold & Silver, and find out how to get started.*

🔫 Home invasion, Apple edition: This is scary. A Florida couple got ambushed in their garage at gunpoint after suspects taped an AirTag under their car to track them. Two men have been arrested, facing charges from armed burglary to kidnapping. So yeah, maybe check your car before your next Target run.

Space leak: Researchers from UC San Diego and Maryland snagged T-Mobile calls, texts and even military comms, all from unencrypted satellites. Literally anyone with $800 and a rooftop dish could’ve done it. Companies assumed “no one would look up.” Which, frankly, explains a lot about our cybersecurity situation. Somewhere, aliens are listening to your spam texts.

🏗️ North Korea’s new side hustle: North Korean operatives aren’t just scamming crypto, they’ve graduated to architecture. Researchers found fake résumés, stolen seals and CAD files for U.S. homes and businesses. Scammers made plans for restaurants, pools and homes, then sent the cash straight back to Kim Jong Un’s nuclear fund. Now that’s one HGTV episode I’d love to see.

AI erases the line between real and fake faster than ever. In today’s AI-powered podcast, we get into OpenAI’s new Sora 2 video generator, a missing billion in Bitcoin and Taylor Swift vs. deepfakes.

Listen on Komando.com →

🎧 Or listen now on your favorite platform:

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💰 Full price is optional: Head to Amazon’s deal page to catch today’s markdowns before they disappear.

⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Want to get way better answers from ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude? Start your prompt with: “You’re a world-class expert in [TOPIC]. What would you do if…” It works like magic. Why? Because AI systems follow role-based instructions like a script, and this primes them to think deeper, not just faster. (Wow, this tip alone will change your life!)

🪟 Final Windows 10 update: Microsoft has ended support for Windows 10, but there’s one last update that patches 173 bugs. Go to Settings > Windows Update > Check for Updates to install it. After this, there are no more security fixes unless you’re on the ESU program. Folks, skip the headache and move to Windows 11.

🌟 Get the best for free: If you’re building your team, this is the perfect time. The best candidates are on LinkedIn right now. With my link, you can post a job for free. Go get your next superstar!*

🌐 iPhone Safari shortcuts: iOS 26 made opening tabs a bit clunkier, but there’s a faster way. Normally you’d tap the ellipsis in the bottom right, then choose New Tab or All Tabs. Instead, swipe left on the address bar to open a new tab, or swipe up (or double-tap the ellipsis) to view all tabs.

Use a mouse with your phone: You can connect a Bluetooth mouse to your Android instead of swiping with your finger. Turn on the mouse and put it in Pairing mode (the light should flash). On your phone, go to Settings > Connections > Bluetooth, toggle it on, and select your mouse under Available devices. Tap Pair, and you’re set.

📬 Recover deleted Outlook emails: Accidentally trashed an important message? Don’t stress. In Outlook’s left panel, open Deleted Items, select the email, and hit Restore. If it’s missing, click Recover items deleted from this folder at the top. Choose your email, restore it, and it’ll pop back into your Inbox like nothing happened.

Jetson is launching Air Games, a racing league where daredevils pilot Jetson ONEs, 190-lb electric flying pods that top out at 63 mph.

Picture Formula 1 but in the sky. 

No wheels, no racetrack, just human pilots weaving through obstacle courses midair like broomsticks on Red Bull. You don’t even need a license to fly one (but maybe a good insurance plan).

These $100K+ hovercrafts already exist, and the Air Games are Jetson’s next move to turn personal flight into a global sport.

It’s like Quidditch, if Harry Potter had carbon fiber and a joystick. Watch the action here.

The answer: B) Elon himself. Musk has been selling unsold Cybertrucks to his own companies, like SpaceX and xAI. Consider it vertical integration, if by “vertical,” you mean selling to yourself. 

Sales have tanked, resale values are cratering and the vehicle’s been recalled eight times already. But hey, at least someone’s buying them. Sort of. I still think if you slap a minigun on the back of a Cybertruck, it’s Halo in real life.

🎯 Before you go… Got three minutes? I’m wrapping up my privacy survey today, and your voice really matters. You’ll be entered to win a $100 Amazon gift card.
👉 Take the survey now, don’t miss your chance!

This is the #1 free tech newsletter in the United States. Tomorrow, phones are turning into treasure maps, and we’re willingly wandering into the woods for hidden containers. Geocaching turns 25, and it’s never been weirder or more wonderful. 

🌟 Look around. Someone out there needs your sparkle. It’s amazing. — Kim

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Photo credit(s): @ZONEofTECH via X, Jetson Inc.

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