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NEWS FLASH

A white king chess piece moves across a board.

♟️ Checkmate? Chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen’s startup Take Take Take announced it will enter the chess play and learning markets — a bold move considering Carlsen’s commercial ties to Chess.com prevent him from promoting it directly. Take Take Take will instead partner with Lichess, a free, open-source alternative, to get access to its existing player base. While Carlsen’s startup isn’t aiming to dethrone Chess.com, his cofounder says the announcement will "certainly come with a reaction from their side.”

⚖️ Gotta steal ‘em all: The value of Pokémon cards has increased 145%+ over the past year and, unlike a TV, they’re easy to steal in bulk. This has led to an uptick in thieves breaking into shops and even collectors’ homes so often that insurance companies are less inclined to insure card stores, per CNN Business. Getting caught, however, can be a doozy given the high value of the cards. One Florida man, accused of 75 thefts from Target stores, faces up to 90 years in prison.

🚨 Drones in schools? Startup Mithril Defense is sending its “Black Arrow” drones to Florida and Georgia high schools to intervene in the event of a shooting. The drones, which are operated by pilots at Mithril’s Texas HQ, can fly up to 100 mph, crash through windows, and shoot pepper spray, among other tactics, but sit in ceiling-mounted boxes when not in use. Unsurprisingly, there are concerns over potential cyberattacks, overuse of force, innocent students who could be caught in the crossfire, and funds that could be used elsewhere being spent on attack drones.

MORE NEWS TO KNOW

Thanks, science: Researchers have discovered a way to deliver less fatty, still crispy French fries by frying and microwaving, which limits potatoes’ oil absorption.
Speaking of fries… IHOP trademarked BLTAF — an acronym for “bacon, lettuce, tomato, and fries” to promote the latest addition to its value menu.
Netflix vs. Italy: An Italian court ruled that because Netflix hiked prices without explaining why, it must refund customers up to $576 and reduce their subscription fees. Netflix has appealed.
A puzzling trend: There were 151% more puzzle competitions between August 2024 and July 2025, compared to the year prior, according to Eventbrite, as in-person, analog activities continue to take off.

TOP CHATBOT TIPS

ChatGPT vs. Claude vs. Gemini vs. Perplexity

In a task-focused battle royale between the top four chatbots, which one wins?

Ninety percent of the time, Grace Leung turns to Claude. But each AI tool has its own place in saving you time. See full chatbot breakdowns, plus highlighted use cases and prompts, as explained by the AI YouTube teacher.

Read for free

THE BIG IDEA

One hand holds a flip phone, while another holds a smartphone.

Sick of screen time? Maybe you need a second phone…

If you’re spending enough time on Gen Z NostalgiaTok, you’ll know that everyone is in their retro film camera, vinyl record, and cassette tape era.

Now there’s one more thing to add to your analog bag — an extra phone.

Two’s a party?

The Clicks Communicator was unveiled at CES 2026. For $499, you might think that it’s meant to do everything, but the focus is on messaging only.

The Communicator runs on Android, and is kind of like an old BlackBerry, with a physical keyboard and a square screen.
“Nothing about this device feels like a modern 2026 product,” says tech reviewer Will Sattleberg, “and I mean that in the best way possible.”

The company, founded by YouTube tech reviewers MrMobile and CrackBerry Kevin, says the phone can be a “primary phone or companion.”

You can use it to replace your main device, but it can also be a secondary addition to get through your emails without getting sucked into the content vortex. Sounds peaceful.

Dumbing it down

The ‘dumbphone’ scene continues to boom as people reassess their relationships with the scroll.

It’s estimated to be a $2.3B market, but there’s still a range of options to suit all budgets.

You can drop $50 on eBay for a classic Nokia 3310 (once the coolest phone on the elementary school playground).
Or you can spend $699 to pre-order the new Lightphone III (which just might solve all your screentime problems, according to New York Magazine).

The less the merrier?

If you’re not ready to be a two-phone or dumbphone person, Clicks Technology also has a battery-charging MagSafe physical keyboard that’s compatible with a regular smartphone.

It seems like it would at least bring back some of the nostalgic thrill of sending a late-night BBM when you’re meant to be prepping for a calc test.

🔗

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Getting started is the hardest part: Here’s a playbook you can follow to gain your first 100 paying customers.

NEWSWORTHY NUMBER

Pieces that make up Lego’s model of Antoni Gaudí’s Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, which is expected to be released this year, according to leaked info via Dezeen. If the reports are true, it will be the company’s largest set ever, beating out the current title holder, an Art World Map set, by 365 pieces.

Just pray the toy version doesn’t take as long to build as the actual cathedral, which has been under construction for the past 144 years and is set to finally be completed this year.

AROUND THE WEB

📅 On this day: In 1948, the United Nations established the World Health Organization.

🐴 That’s cool: Draw a horse.

📰 Newsletter: The Assist delivers practical resources, leadership insights, and career tips for women.

🐀 Game: List as many animals as you can.

🐈 Aww: It’s the simple things.

SHOWER THOUGHT

The Three Musketeers are famous for their swordsmanship, not their musketry skills. SOURCE

Today's email was brought to you by Juliet Bennett Rylah, Rosie Thomas, and Singdhi Sokpo.

Editing by: Sara "Scary screentime" Friedman.

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📱 A smarter dumbphone