Today’s Big Story

NSA Wants You to Reboot Your Phone

Consider it necessary maintenance and preventative care

When was the last time you turned off your phone. Not put it to sleep, but actually turned it off and turned it back on? In our smartphone-obsessed world, it’s probably not a regular habit, but the National Security Agency recommends powering it on and off weekly.

According to Forbes, the NSA’s original warning was published in a mobile device best practices guide in 2020. With smartphones running across all operating system platforms becoming an increasingly popular target for threat actors of all flavors, the NSA said that “many of the features provide convenience and capability but sacrifice security” and attempted to pin down simple steps that even the most non-technical users could take to better protect their devices and the data stored within.

So it’s not exactly new advice, but in an era of zero-click attacks and smishing messages, it's not a bad idea to make sure you're doing what you can to ward off scammers and hackers. Some of the agency's other tips include turning off Bluetooth and Wi-Fi when you're not using it, keeping your OS and applications updated, disabling location services, and using secure lock-screen passwords. The NSA also includes using trusted accessories since malcontents can use your mobile device's charging port as a way to get into the phone and do some damage. (We all know to ignore mystery USB devices that are just hanging around, right?)

And Gizmodo reminds us that it’s just a good practice to get into. As writer Florence Ion points out, it’s a simple way to either force a waning software update or clear any background apps and memory leaks that might contribute to a too-hot-too-handle metal phone. “I’m a frequent restarter because I have cell signal issues in my area—a quick reboot usually does the trick, though not without my heart beating rapidly as I wait to see those mobile service bars return.”

Harris Calls Trump ‘a Fascist’

Her closing argument in the 2024 race is that her rival is a fundamental threat to the nation

The gloves are coming off. Vice President Kamala Harris said she believes former President Trump is a fascist when asked by CNN’s Anderson Cooper during a Wednesday night town hall in front of undecided voters in battleground Pennsylvania.

According to the Associated Press, Harris seized on comments by former chief of staff John Kelly, a retired Marine Corps general, about his former boss in interviews with The New York Times and The Atlantic published Tuesday warning that the Republican nominee meets the definition of a fascist and that while in office he praised Adolf Hitler and suggested that the Nazi leader “did some good things.” Kelly also said that Trump put personal loyalty above the Constitution.

Harris said that Kelly's warnings are a “911 call to the American people.” She added that “the people who know Donald Trump best, the people who worked with him in the White House, in the Situation Room, in the Oval Office ... have all called him unfit and dangerous.”

North Korean Troops Are in Russia

Citing newly declassified intelligence, the White House said that they’re undergoing combat training

The U.S. government has evidence that at least 3,000 North Korean soldiers are in Russia receiving training, senior Biden administration officials said Wednesday, a development they said could have global implications and make those troops “legitimate military targets” in Ukraine should they enter the ongoing war there.

“We recognize the potential danger here,” John Kirby, a spokesman for the National Security Council, told the Washington Post. “And we’re going to be talking to allies and partners, including Ukrainians, about what the proper next steps are going to be.” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin called it a “next step” after the North has provided Russia with arms, and said Pyongyang could face consequences for aiding Russia directly. His comments were the first public U.S. confirmation of North Korea sending troops to Russia—a development South Korean officials disclosed but was denied by Pyongyang and Moscow.

Exactly what the North Korean troops are doing in Russia was “left to be seen," Austin told reporters in Rome. He added: “If they’re co-belligerents, their intention is to participate in this war on Russia’s behalf, that is a very, very serious issue, and it will have impacts not only in Europe, it will also impact things in the Indo-Pacific.” Kirby warned, however, that “I can tell you one thing, though, if they do deploy to fight against Ukraine, they’re fair game.”

Loneliness Is Tough

No one is immune to loneliness. But some are more at risk.

Loneliness seems to be everywhere these days. American men were said to be in a “friendship recession,” with a survey finding the number of men without any close friends increased fivefold since 1990. Last year, the Surgeon General released an advisory underscoring the seriousness of loneliness and isolation. While long-term data on loneliness is lacking, recent surveys have found increases in loneliness that predate the pandemic.

But the answers to who loneliness afflicts—and the solutions to this complex social problem—are not nearly as straightforward as you might think. According to The Conversation, men are carrying the brunt of the ‘loneliness epidemic’ amid potent societal pressures. And certain cultures seem to find more people involuntarily isolated—for instance, South Korea and Japan. In Seoul, city authorities announced this week they would spend 451.3 billion won (nearly $327 million) over the next five years to “create a city where no-one is lonely.”

But what does loneliness feel like to the lonely? What are some of the potential consequences? And what’s causing it? The New York Times reports that finding answers to these types of questions is a notoriously difficult proposition. “Loneliness is a compound or multidimensional emotion: It contains elements of sadness and anxiety, fear and heartache. The experience of it is inherently, intensely subjective, as any chronically lonely person can tell you.” A clerk at a crowded grocery store can be wildly lonely, just as a wizened hermit living in a cave can weather solitude in perfect bliss.

Improve Your Memory

10 scientifically proven ways to supercharge your recall rate

Few things make you feel completely out of it like forgetting something, right? When you misplace your wallet or can't seem to remember where you parked, you're left feeling confused and almost disoriented. What was I gonna say? Or you know, that one guy from that show, uh ... anyway where was I going with this?

You get the point. Our brain is a vital part of our body and we probably don't exercise it enough. But there are simple things we can do to sharpen our mind. And the stronger it gets, the more ironclad your memory stays. Here are 10 scientifically proven ways to supercharge your recall rate.

More joy sounds good, right?