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🇺🇸 Happy Fourth of July, friend.Today isn't just another Fourth of July. It's America's 250th birthday. Two hundred fifty years since 56 men risked their necks signing a document built on one radical idea: You get to decide your own future. That's what this holiday means to me. Not just the fireworks and hot dogs (though I'll take the fireworks). It's the freedom to speak your mind, start a business, raise your family your way, and yes, complain loudly when your internet goes out. So somewhere between the parade and the potato salad, take one second to appreciate how rare that really is. The British still say we go overboard with this holiday. Fair enough. But the only thing that ever went overboard was their tea.
🎇 Now, once upon a time, fireworks were the main character. Tonight, drones are up there doing sky choreography like they’re auditioning for America’s Got Talent: Cloud Edition. Drones are quieter, safer for pets and veterans, and leave zero debris.
One minute they form a flag, the next it’s a bald eagle, then boom, USA in glowing dots. They’re packed so close together, it looks like one wrong wiggle could turn the whole show into robot confetti.
How far apart does each show drone hold its exact spot in the sky? A) Within about a foot, B) Within 1 to 2 centimeters, less than an inch, C) Within about 3 feet, they only look closer from the ground, D) 10 feet, it’s one big optical illusion. Keep reading, the answer is waiting for its big sky reveal.
❤️ Red, white & better health: Independence Day is the perfect time to celebrate feeling your best. In the spirit of the holiday, we’ve heavily discounted every ImproveLife supplement. Save up to 50% off Joint Support and up to 60% off GLP-1 Support, plus enjoy free shipping through our Fourth of July Sale.** — Kim
TODAY’S DEEP DIVE
Subscription freedom
Image: ChatGPT/Kim Komando
⚡ TL;DR
Americans spend about $219 a month on subscriptions but guess it’s closer to $86. That gap is real money leaving every month.
Nearly half are paying for at least one subscription they forgot exists.
A 15-minute audit can fix it. Here’s the exact playbook.
📖 Read time: 2.5 minutes
During your holiday celebration, your bank account is quietly funding three streaming services you forgot you own. Independence Day is the perfect excuse to declare war on the charges bleeding you dry.
Fun fact: The average American spends about $219 a month on subscriptions but guesses it’s closer to $86. That’s a $133 gap, every single month, walking right out the door. And 42% of people are paying for at least one subscription they completely forgot existed. Barry swore we “don't really pay that much.” Then the audit found a flight tracker app he hasn't opened since 2024. (His words: “I was going to use it.”)
🔦 Hunt down the leeches
You don’t need an app to start.
On your iPhone, open Settings, tap your name, then tap Subscriptions. Every Apple billed charge is sitting right there.
On Android, open the Play Store, tap your profile picture, then Payments & subscriptions, then tap Subscriptions.
On Amazon, go to Accounts & Lists, then Memberships & Subscriptions. To check Subscribe & Save orders, look for the separate Subscribe & Save section on your account page.
Want to feel like a millionaire with a personal accountant? Pull your last bank or credit card statement, black out the private bits and hand it to your favorite chatbot. Use this prompt:
List every subscription charge in this statement. Mark which ones are essential and which I can probably cancel.
Ten seconds later, you’ve got a hit list.
🔒 Lock the door behind you
Scanner apps like Rocket Money sniff out recurring charges for you. Fair warning though. They only work if you connect your bank and card accounts, so you’re handing a company a window into everything you spend. That’s a real privacy trade, but I did save almost $500 a year using Rocket Money.*
The free move I love?
Build a Gmail filter for phrases like “trial ending soon,” “renewal notice” and “monthly statement.” Those emails get flagged the second they land, before the charge ever hits. You catch them before they catch you.
And while we’re celebrating today, let’s remember what really happened back in 1776. The British blew a 13-colony lead.
📩 Send this to someone who swears they “don’t really pay that much” for subscriptions.
The Fourth of July is one of my favorite times of the year. Family cookouts. Fireworks. Time outdoors. Long walks after dinner. It’s a chance to slow down, enjoy the people you love and make the most of summer.
We wanted premium supplements made with clinically studied ingredients, without low-quality fillers or unnecessary additives. Products we proudly take ourselves every day. Every formula is proudly made in the USA with premium ingredients.**
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Individual results may vary.
📺 YOUTUBE: THE KIM KOMANDO SHOW
Watch now or bookmark for later
John had a heart attack behind the wheel. He called his son for help. One problem: His son was an entire state away. Didn’t matter. From his phone, the son rerouted his dad’s Tesla straight to the ER. Doctors say those minutes saved John’s life. Plus, drones are the new fireworks. 17x Guinness World Record holder Sky Elements tells us how it’s done. Also:
Mexico’s Batman tapes thieves to lampposts.
Woman watched ex’s Ring camera for 700 hours.
Viral LEGO trick tames tangled cords.
Your phone translates conversations in real time.
SOS tip saves stranded boaters.
Math nerds crack Wordle code.
Meet Roy. The original GPS voice.
Stranger raises $149K for AMC employee.
Watch now before everyone else is talking about it. 👇
Or for audio only, search “Komando” in your favorite podcast player.
WEB WATERCOOLER
🎶 Streams of deceit: Somebody bought 500,000 fake plays to push an indie pop song called Earrings to No. 1 on Spotify. Why? Gamblers on prediction market Kalshi wager real money, $3 million on this one, on which songs top the charts. Bots juice the streams, bets pay out, and Kalshi already paid winners before Spotify stripped the fakes. The artist did nothing wrong. The charts you trust? Bought and paid for. Turns out there's way too much violins on the charts.
🔒 All-in-one password manager: Normally, when you log in, you bounce between apps for your password and a one-time code, right? Well, NordPass has an Authenticator feature that handles both. It stores your password and generates the one-time security code in the same app. Bonus protection: You’ll need biometrics to unlock the code, so it doesn’t just pop up on screen. Learn more here.*
Windows gets a rewind: Anyone who has watched a PC melt down after a bad update has a reason to smile. Microsoft's July 14 Windows 11 update adds Point-in-time Restore, a one-click rollback that snaps a computer back to a working state. One catch: it needs at least 200GB of free storage. The update also brings faster File Explorer and an eye-friendly Screen tint. Finally, an undo button for the day everything breaks.
🚨 Apple didn't wait: Apple did something it's never done before. It shipped iPhone security fixes early, about 30 of them in iOS 26.5.2, and confirmed the rush was because hackers now use AI to find and exploit software holes faster than ever. These patches weren't due until iOS 26.6 later this month. Apple didn't wait. You shouldn't either. Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install today.
💞 Sign of the times: A California woman spent $7,000 on highway billboards with her photo, asking suitors to apply for a date on her website. Lisa Catalano got 4,000 applications over eight months of billboard fame. Didn’t work. She met her new boyfriend on a regular dating app, proving the algorithm beats the billboard. Talk about a sign she didn't need.
🐒 Literal monkey business: Just when you thought your cute cat videos were safe. AI wildlife videos are getting so realistic, people are falling for them before anyone checks whether the animal even exists. Furious baby shoebills, a bubble bath kitten seen 3 million times and a fake monkey supposedly roaming St. Louis. That last one was believable enough that officials had to call off an actual search. These clips are purr-fectly fake.
🎤 PODCAST: THE KIM KOMANDO SHOW
Wordle cheat code
(Starts at 1:17) Stuck on today’s Wordle? Experts just cracked the code to solve it. 99% of the time.
🎧 Or search “Komando” wherever you get your podcasts. I’m everywhere.
KIM’S DAILY DEALS
As an Amazon Associate, some links pay us a commission at no extra cost to you. Keeps this newsletter free. Thank you.
🇺🇸 Made in the USA
Quality you can trust from right here.
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Dry or cracked leather? Since 1968, Leather Honey’s cleaner and conditioner have brought it back to life. Safe for any color, it restores and protects everything from shoes to your couch.
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🌬️ Breathe easier: These air filters(23% off, $48, six-pack) trap pollen, mold, bacteria and smoke, so your HVAC runs clean all year.
Steam away stress: Drop in a shower steamer(17% off, $25) and soak in up to 20 minutes of natural essential oils, not sketchy chemicals.
🧼 Lather up: Kitsch’s body scrub bar(17% off, $10) buffs away dead skin and locks in moisture with sugar, walnut shell and coconut oil.
Tiny lifesavers: Clip one of these car escape tools(33% off, $12, two-pack) to your key chain. Cuts seat belts and shatters windows in seconds.
🛍️ Still deal hunting? See if your daily essentials are on sale.
Prices and deals were accurate at the time of publication.
DEVICE ADVICE
⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Fireworks are fun for you, not the dog hiding under the bed. Before you head out, leave some white noise, calming music or the TV on to help cover the bangs. Hide a few treats around the house, too. Bella and Abby get the TV, the white noise and the treat hunt every year. Good doggos have been through enough
📻 Listen up! While you're flipping burgers this holiday weekend, flip on my national radio show, airing coast to coast on over 510 stations. Find yours in two seconds with our super-duper station locator map. Not near a radio? No problem. Catch me on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or watch the entire show on YouTube. Radio, podcast, video. I'm wherever you are. Talk about a declaration of in-your-ear-dependence.
🚗 Pin your parking spot: Nobody's ever lost a 1946 Chevy truck in a parking lot. Everything else? Pin it. Open Google Maps (iOS), tap the blue dot and choose Save parking. Later, tap the search bar > Parking location > Directions. Much better than guessing in the dark.
⏳ Your antivirus shouldn’t take hours to run a scan: Really. If it does, it’s using a 10-year-old “bloatware” model. People always ask me why Webroot is so fast. It’s cloud-based. It checks for threats in seconds, not hours. Get my exclusive offer: 62% off Webroot Essentials now.*
📸 Straighten the shot: Turn on camera grid lines before tonight’s fireworks show. They help line up the skyline, your family and the big sparkly finale without the photo leaning like it had two beers. On iPhone, go to Settings > Camera and turn on Grid and Level. On Android, open Camera > Settings > Grid or Composition guide.
🌙 Night mode, maybe not: Drones and fireworks move fast, so Night mode can turn a cool burst into a glowing smear. Use it for city lights or people after the show, not sky photos. On iPhone, tap the yellow moon icon to turn it off. On Android, switch back to regular Photo mode. Cut the flash, too.
🇺🇸 Staying home today? For the kiddos, try Ben’s Guide to the U.S. Government. It’s a fun website with games that teach how the branches work, how laws are made and how elections happen. Then stream a classic like The Patriot or one of my favorite series, John Adams (HBO). Be safe, fly your flag and happy 250th birthday, America.
WHAT THE TECH?
Image: @skyelementsdrones via Instagram
🦅 Give me liberty or give me lidar
The Fourth of July used to be about lighting things on fire and hoping nobody’s uncle lost a thumb.
Now it’s drones. Lots of drones. This video opens with a Benjamin Franklin stunt double surveying rows of electricity’s neediest children. The juice is worth the squeeze. They rise into the sky and become glowing rockets, iconic flag-raising scenes and a bald eagle screaming freedom in 4K.
Fireworks had smoke, noise and danger. Drone shows have choreography, batteries and Disney-after-dark energy.
We had Sky Elements on the show this weekend. They hold 17 Guinness World Records. They’re replacing fireworks shows with drones for America’s 250th anniversary.
What you learned today: You spend $219 a month on subscriptions while your brain swears it's $86, bots bought a No. 1 song on Spotify, Apple rushed an iPhone patch because hackers use AI now, an AI monkey video shut down a real police search, and one pilot runs a 500-drone flag by pressing start. Five things smarter before the first burger hit the grill. Tomorrow, I turn your phone into a pocket planetarium. Stars and stripes tonight, only the stars tomorrow.
📏 The answer: B) 1 to 2 centimeters, less than an inch. Show drones use a turbocharged GPS called RTK that pins each one to a centimeter or two, far sharper than the GPS in your phone.
Here’s the part that really gets people. Nobody is flying them. The whole show is preprogrammed on a laptop, and on the Fourth, a single licensed pilot hits start and mostly stands there watching. Each drone is a pixel that knows precisely where to be and when. A 500-drone flag, run by one person and a very confident computer.
Firework jokes? They always go right over my head.
🎆 Celebrate with better health: Whether you’re staying active with Joint Support or supporting your wellness goals with GLP-1 Support, now is the perfect time to stock up. My readers can save up to 50% off Joint Support and up to 60% off GLP-1 Support, plus free shipping through our Fourth of July Sale. Hurry, sale ends soon!**
📩 Send this to someone who still thinks drones are aliens. Yes, that one. Have questions? Ask me here.
🎤 Sing in the car. Loudly. Off-key. It’s free therapy. Drop a rating below and a comment if you like. I read each one! — Kim
Kim Komando • Komando.com • 510+ radio stations • Trusted by millions daily
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Photo credit(s):ChatGPT/Kim Komando, Leather Honey, @skyelementsdrones via Instagram
Companies and products denoted by an asterisk (*) within this publication are paid sponsors or advertisements. As an Amazon Associate, the publisher earns from qualifying purchases. Statements regarding products denoted by a double asterisk (**) have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration; such products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. This newsletter is provided for informational and entertainment purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, medical, or professional advice of any kind. Readers should consult with a qualified professional before making any decisions based on this content. The publisher disclaims all liability for any loss, damage, or injury resulting from the use of or reliance on the information contained herein.
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