📬 Did someone forward this to you?Sign up here. Tomorrow: That 90%-off Black Friday bargain might be a trap. I’ll break down how fake stores fool shoppers and the smartest way to pay if you want protection.
Welcome to your Sunday, friend.Pop songs used to promise eternal love under the moonlight. Michigan State researchers analyzed 38,467 songs from 230 popular artists from 1947 to 2024.
The result? Most feelings faded. Happy words fell. Sad words also dropped. Even mentions of family and friends slipped. But one type of word climbed as careers went on.
🎶 Which kind of words showed up more in pop songs over that time? A) Love words, B) Money words, C) Anxious words or D) “Baby,” sung 47 times in a row? Scroll to the bottom for the answer. No skipping to the bridge. 🎵
Do me a quick favor: click any three links in today’s newsletter. Email providers watch your clicks to decide what lands in your inbox. And have you seen who hangs out in the junk folder? Fake princes, “urgent” toll notices and a guy selling miracle pills. That’s not my crowd! Here’s an easy one to start. Yep, even this one counts! Three clicks keep me in your inbox and out of that bad neighborhood. It’s scary in there. — Kim
TODAY’S DEEP DIVE
Time after time
Image: ChatGPT/Kim Komando
🤯 WOW! Last night, millions of clocks fell back an hour without anyone touching them. The signal came from a single government radio tower outside Fort Collins, Colo., fed by 16 atomic clocks in Boulder. And last December, when a windstorm cut the power, official U.S. time slipped almost five millionths of a second.
📖 Read time: 2 minutes
Last night at 2 a.m., millions of clocks across America turned themselves back an hour while you slept. Nobody touched them. So who did?
A radio tower in a Colorado field. I’m not kidding.
📻 The station that runs on time
It’s called WWVB, and it sits outside Fort Collins, Colo. Every second of every day, it beams the official U.S. time across most of North America on a low radio frequency.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the government lab that runs WWVB, estimated more than 50 million clocks and watches have a receiver.
The time itself comes from 16 atomic clocks at a lab in Boulder. They’re averaged together to keep official U.S. time. Your phone doesn’t listen to WWVB, but it gets its time from there.
Tucked into that signal is a little flag that tells your clock, “Daylight saving time ends today.” At 2 a.m., it fell back like magic.
⚡ The day the clock slipped
Last December, a windstorm knocked out power to the Boulder lab. A backup generator failed. Batteries kept the atomic clocks ticking, but official U.S. time slipped 4.8 microseconds behind. That’s less than five millionths of a second.
You’d never notice. But phone networks and GPS might. NIST even weighed shutting off its internet time servers until staff got a reserve generator running.
Think about that. The whole country’s sense of “now” depends on a lab in Colorado keeping the lights on.
Here’s what didn’t change itself last night:
The car clock, unless your car gets updates.
The microwave, oven and coffee maker.
Older thermostats, so check your heating schedule.
Security cameras and DVRs, which can mess up your recording times.
Your “atomic” clock didn’t switch either? Put in fresh batteries and set it near a window facing Colorado, away from the TV. FYI, Arizona and Hawaii skip daylight saving time.
I was going to tell you a time-travel joke, but you didn’t like it.
🗣️ Text/post this stat: Millions of clocks changed themselves last night, and the signal came from one radio tower in a Colorado field. GetKim.com
📩 Send this to someone who still hasn’t fixed the clock on their microwave.
A farmer found an 11-foot charred metal ring on his property. Deputies say it fell from space! Find out who pays if rocket parts hit your house, and what to do if you find some.
Click your favorite podcast player below to listen now or later:
🎧 Or search “Komando” wherever you get your podcasts. I’m everywhere.
WEB WATERCOOLER
⚖️ Grief takes testimony: A woman used AI to recreate her brother’s face and voice for an Arizona courtroom after he was killed in a 2021 road rage incident. The killer got 10.5 years for manslaughter. Now an appeals court has ordered resentencing, finding the video unfairly influenced the judge. I spoke with the sister on my show. Gut wrenching all around.
Chip off the old stock: Ouch. Intel stock crashed 28.58% on Friday, its worst day since the 1970s, after the chipmaker gave a weaker outlook than Wall Street wanted. The drop wiped about $12 billion off the U.S. government’s stake in the company. (Yes, Uncle Sam owns a piece of Intel.) If you own a tech-heavy index fund or 401(k), you probably felt it too. Days like this are a good reminder to stay diversified.
🚘 Safety got expensive: I thought checking your teen’s driving was supposed to lower your blood pressure, not raise your insurance bill. GM marketed Smart Driver for monitored driving, but it was sharing data with brokers who sold it to insurers. And shocker to no one, some drivers ended up with higher premiums. GM settled for a reported $220 million. I’ll let you know when they put up claim information. This is reason 4,932 why you need PrivacyKim.com.*
Your budget flinched: Starting at $3,399, Apple’s new touchscreen MacBook Pro has people second-guessing things. The loaded 16-inch costs $14,549, with $7,000 going toward extra storage. Remember the computers we used to get to the moon had less memory than a graphing calculator. And somehow, they managed without a touchscreen. Full disclosure: I need a new laptop so I ordered the 16-inch Space Black MacBook Pro with the M5 Max chip (36GB memory, 2TB storage, nano-texture glass) that cost $4,949 plus tax. It’s like taking a trip down memory lane when I bought my first car. The same laptop is discounted 14% on Amazon, I’m sending mine back to Apple.
💞 Thinking out loud: Imagine losing your voice to ALS, then talking again just by thinking. Neuralink says one participant with ALS in its speech trial hit 75 words per minute in the first week, turning thoughts into text and spoken words. The system made errors on just 5.8% of words, using a 125,000-word vocabulary. That’s close to everyday conversation speed. For families who’ve lost a loved one’s voice, this is real hope.
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
Your passwords have a secret life
Think your passwords are safe? Think again. Billions of email records have been exposed in data breaches, and the dark web is a marketplace for stolen login credentials. Scary stuff, especially if you’re using the same password multiple times.
That’s why I trust NordPass. It keeps my passwords in one secure vault, so I don’t have to remember them all. Here’s the kicker: NordPass checks the passwords in my vault to see if they’re weak, reused or vulnerable. It also alerts me when a password is exposed.
Think about your banking, shopping and email accounts. One compromised password could put more than one account at risk. NordPass helps you spot problems before they become headaches. I use NordPass and I recommend it to my family.
Thank you for supporting our sponsors, who keep this newsletter free.
DEVICE ADVICE
⚡️ 3-second tech genius: ChatGPT can read your screen. In the mobile app, tap the + icon in the chat box and choose Take Photo or Choose Photo. Point it at a confusing bill, an error message, a foreign-language menu or Grandma’s handwritten recipe. It reads, translates and explains it all in seconds. My favorite trick? Snap a pic of that maddening insurance form and ask, “What does this actually mean?” You’ll be stunned. (PSA: Black out account numbers and personal info first. ChatGPT doesn’t need your Social.)
🛡️ Free antivirus is a big gamble: People ask me all the time if built-in protection like Microsoft Defender is enough. Short answer: Nope. Free software catches only 60% to 80% of online threats. That leaves the door wide open for the rest. I use Webroot because it blocks up to 99% of threats in real time, and it won’t slow your computer to a crawl. Get 65% off my top antivirus pick for 2026. That’s only $17.49 a year.*
Your iPhone texts just got smarter: Messages now suggests actions based on what you’re chatting about. Your friend texts, “Dinner next Tuesday?” Boom. An option pops up to add it to your calendar. You’ll see suggestions for Notes, Maps and Reminders, too. Not a fan? Shut it off in Settings > Apps > Messages > Suggested Actions.
🖥️ Windows 11’s optional update is here: Now you decide what shows up when you right-click a file. Never use Create shortcut? Click Customize menu at the bottom and hide it. The part I love even more: a new cloud recovery option. If your PC won’t boot, it can reinstall Windows without a USB drive. Lifesaver. To get it, go to Settings > Windows Update and flip on Get the latest updates as soon as they’re available.
Update your Apple Watch, pronto: watchOS 27.2 brings bug fixes and faster Siri responses if you’ve got a Series 9 or newer. Even better, the app switcher is back. Open an app, then press and hold at the bottom to hop between apps. Grab it in the Watch app on your iPhone.
📄 Yes, it’s still a draft: Google Docs can stamp a watermark behind every page automatically. Click Insert > Page elements > Watermark. Upload an image, or choose Text and type “CONFIDENTIAL” (or “DO NOT FORWARD, BOB”). It shows up on every page, even when you save as a PDF. Heads up: It won’t stop anyone from editing.
Give your Facebook photo a glow-up: Restyle your profile pic with AI in seconds. In the mobile app, tap your profile picture > Restyle profile picture with AI. Pick a style like comic book or oil painting, or describe exactly what you want. You might even see an option to Animate your photo so it waves or makes a heart. Cute or creepy? You decide.
🚶🏼♀️ Take me on a walk: Listen to my latest show on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. I make chores fly by, too!
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.
🦃 Talk turkey to me
Hosting this year? I’ve got your back.
🥗 Chop to it: Vegetable chopper(44% off, $28) 4.5 ⭐ 122,500+ reviews
Don’t spend Thanksgiving crying over onions. Press down and get neat, even pieces in seconds. The 5-cup bin catches it all and doubles as a storage bowl. Toss the parts in the dishwasher after the feast.
Image: Fullstar
🧑🎄 Butter believe it: Meet Gnomeo(25% off, $15), a gnome-shaped basting brush. His silicone bristles spread butter, oil and sauce evenly.
Press for success: Alpha Grillers’ stainless steel garlic press($20) crushes cloves in one squeeze. The peeler slips those pesky skins right off.
☕ Warmth on demand: Curling up with hot cocoa? This electric warmer(39% off, $19) keeps your mug toasty for hours. Warms candles, too.
Sweet storage solution: Ditch those messy bags. These extra-large airtight containers(10% off, $27, two-piece) seal up flour, sugar and rice.
🍽️ The gravy train continues: I’ve got plenty more Turkey Month helpers on my Amazon storefront.
Prices and deals were accurate at the time of publication.
WHAT THE TECH?
Image: @ANNnewsCH via YouTube
🌲 The new branch manager
Japan’s train delays have met their final boss, and he brought a chainsaw.
Railway giant JR East is using a truck-mounted humanoid maintenance robot, with one arm to grab branches and another to cut them. A person operates it remotely, so it’s less Skynet and more extremely aggressive gardening.
The bot tackles labor shortages, and future AI image recognition could detect track obstructions without someone pointing them out.
Watch it in action here. The trains might run smoother, but the local shrubbery is living in a horror movie.
LOGGING OUT …
🎓 What you learned today: A Colorado radio tower keeps millions of clocks on time, your car may share driving data with insurers, AI-generated victim statement raises courtroom questions, new MacBooks are super expensive and Japan’s chainsaw-wielding robot trims trees. Not bad for one email.Black Friday scam stores are already live, and some look shockingly real. Tomorrow, I’ll show you the red flags before a fake deal steals your money.
😟 The answer: C) Anxious words. Turns out pop music has been getting a little more antsy. Worry words climbed while sadness and happiness took a dive. The researchers expected the opposite. People usually get happier and more social with age, but lyrics didn’t follow the rules.
Bonus facts: Willie Nelson had the most songs of any artist in the study. Marvin Gaye and The Supremes scored near the top for happy, people-focused lyrics. And about 30 research assistants double-checked the song lists by hand. Talk about a labor of love.
🎧 Take me with you today: A farmer walked out to his cornfield and found an 11-foot charred metal ring. Deputies say it fell from space. (Not your average fall harvest.) So who pays if rocket parts crash through your roof? And what should you do if space junk lands in your yard? I break it all down on my latest show. Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or iHeartRadio, or at Komando.com/podcasts. Why do scarecrows make great rocket scientists? Because they’re outstanding in their field.
💛 A single tower in a Colorado field kept millions of clocks honest last night. Most of the best work happens quietly. Go do some of yours. I hope you have a great day! — Kim
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, Fullstar, @ANNnewsCH via YouTube
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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Keep a civil tongue.