Good morning! Your Android phone is two weeks from getting a whole new voice — we'll tell you exactly what changes. And the birthday boy in today's Remember When once scored 100 points in a single NBA game.
Worth Knowing
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Your Android phone gets a new voice September 4Google starts replacing Google Assistant with Gemini, its newer AI assistant, on Android phones, tablets, and Wear OS watches beginning September 4 — rolling out over several weeks, with no way to opt out or switch back once it reaches your device. Most everyday commands (timers, calls, weather) carry over, but a few features don't yet, including Interpreter mode and some music and podcast connections. Nothing to do today; just don't be surprised when "Hey Google" starts answering differently. |
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⚠ Scam alert
A package you never ordered can be a scam in a boxThe signal: a package addressed to you that you didn't order — often something cheap like seeds, toothpaste, or wipes. The FTC warned this week about "brushing": scammers mail these items so they can post fake "verified buyer" reviews under your name, and some packages now include a QR code urging you to scan it to "return" the item. What to do: keep the item if you like, but don't scan the code and don't call any number on the box. Check your shopping accounts for logins or orders you don't recognize. Verify it: report the package at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. |
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Check the ceiling fan before you flip the switchYoungo has recalled about 9,460 Hampton Bay Halwin 52-inch indoor/outdoor ceiling fans sold at Home Depot after 11 reports of blades separating from the fan while spinning, including reported injuries. The affected model numbers are AK396H-MBK and AK396H-BN, printed on top of the motor housing. If yours matches, stop using it and contact Youngo for a free replacement or refund. |
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States are quietly trimming property-tax bills — check yoursTexas voters added a $60,000 homestead exemption for homeowners 65 and older on top of the general one. New York raised the ceiling on its partial assessment exemption for lower-income homeowners 65 and up, letting localities exempt as much as 65% of a home's assessed value. New Jersey's Stay NJ program is paying out its second 2026 installment this quarter. Rules, income limits, and deadlines vary by state and county — a ten-minute call to your county assessor's office is the fastest way to learn what you qualify for. |
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This fall's flu shot was rebuilt to match last winter's virusThe FDA updated all three strains in the 2026–27 formula, including a new H3N2 component aimed at the version that dominated last season. Timing matters as much as the formula: immunity fades over a few months, so September or October is the sweet spot — early enough to be protected before cases climb, late enough to last through the December-to-February peak. |
Remember When?
The 7-footer nobody could believe was real
Wilt Chamberlain was born 90 years ago today — August 21, 1936 — in Philadelphia, one of nine children. By high school at Overbrook, he was already the most talked-about basketball player in the country. Before the NBA would take him, he spent the 1958–59 season touring with the Harlem Globetrotters, grinning through ball tricks in front of sold-out crowds.
Then came the part nobody has matched. On March 2, 1962, in a half-empty arena in Hershey, Pennsylvania, Chamberlain scored 100 points in a single game. No television cameras were there; the proof is a box score, a radio call, and the famous photograph of him holding a hand-lettered "100" sign. That same season he averaged 50.4 points a game — and in 14 seasons, he never once fouled out.
Wilt Chamberlain during his Globetrotters year, 1959. Photo: Fred Palumbo, New York World-Telegram & Sun / Library of Congress
| Super Bowl ticket | $15 → about $8,100 |
| Countertop microwave oven | about $250 → $100–$300 |
| Big Mac | 65¢ → about $6 |
| Basic pocket calculator | $25–$100 → free on your phone |
The year of Hank Aaron's 715th home run and the 55-mph speed limit. Today's Super Bowl figure is the resale average for February's game; the Big Mac is the current national menu average. The calculator, famously, became a free app.
Test Yourself
| 1 | On this day in 1911, a museum handyman walked out of the Louvre with what famous painting under his smock? |
| 2 | On August 21, 1959, President Eisenhower signed the proclamation making which state the 50th? |
| 3 | In 1938, Massachusetts innkeeper Ruth Wakefield chopped up a Nestlé chocolate bar and accidentally invented what? |
| 4 | Which letter-turning game show premiered on NBC in January 1975, with Chuck Woolery as its first host? |
| 5 | Roughly how much does a blue whale's heart weigh — 40 pounds, 400 pounds, or 4,000 pounds? |
Answers are near the bottom of today's email. No peeking.
Live Better
If you started the shingles vaccine, don't leave it half-finished
Shingrix takes two doses, spaced two to six months apart, and the protection numbers belong to people who finish: 97% effective against shingles for adults 50–69, 91% at 70 and older. One dose leaves meaningfully less protection.
If you got a first dose this spring, you may be approaching the six-month mark now — a quick look at your vaccination record, or a call to the pharmacy that gave the shot, settles it.
Late August is the real window for a thicker lawn
Cool-season grass seed germinates best when soil sits between 55 and 70 degrees, which in most of the country means late August through early October. New grass also needs six to eight weeks of growth before the first hard frost, so waiting until the leaves turn costs you the margin.
Mow to about 2–2.5 inches first, and skip weed killer on any area you're overseeding.
A tax deadline that doesn't wait for April
If you have income that taxes aren't withheld from — self-employment, investment income, a large IRA withdrawal or Roth conversion this year — your third-quarter estimated payment is due September 15. The safe-harbor rule protects you from penalties if you've paid in 90% of this year's tax or 100% of last year's (110% for higher incomes).
The penalty clock runs on the missed date, not the missed amount, so it can apply even if you settle up fully in April.
Enjoy Yourself
Anne Hathaway's pop-star drama lands on HBO Max tonight
"Mother Mary," the A24 drama starring Anne Hathaway as a pop star staging a comeback and Michaela Coel as the estranged designer who built her image, starts streaming on HBO Max today after a brief theatrical run. Directed by David Lowery, it's a strange, stylish two-hander — a good pick if you want this weekend's movie to come with something to argue about afterward.
Pumpkin season started early — and brought tiramisu with it
Dunkin' rolled out its fall menu nationwide this week: the returning Pumpkin Spice Signature Latte, a new Pumpkin Cloud Dunkalatte, and — the curveball — a lineup of four tiramisu-inspired drinks. If you keep score on these things, that's a two-week head start on September.
The country's biggest state fair opens Thursday
The Minnesota State Fair — the nation's best-attended fair by daily crowd, home of the butter sculptures and nearly everything on a stick — runs August 27 through Labor Day, September 7. Discounted advance tickets are sold only through Wednesday, August 26, so if a road trip is even a maybe, buy the tickets now and decide later.
One Last Thing
1. The Mona Lisa — the 1911 theft by handyman Vincenzo Peruggia, who hid it in his Paris apartment for two years, is what made the painting world-famous · 2. Hawaii — more than 93% of the territory's voters had said yes · 3. The chocolate chip cookie — she later sold Nestlé the Toll House name for $1 and a lifetime supply of chocolate · 4. Wheel of Fortune — created by Merv Griffin, the man who also gave us Jeopardy! · 5. About 400 pounds — and its heartbeat can be detected from up to two miles away
And finally: the fairest face in root beer
Jinny Lu, a 6-year-old pug rescued from a dog-meat farm in South Korea, won the 50th annual World's Ugliest Dog Contest at the Sonoma County Fair this month. Her prize haul: $5,000, a television appearance, and her portrait on a limited run of Mug Root Beer cans. Fifty years in, the contest's point is the same as ever — every dog is somebody's best-looking dog. We'd buy the can.
More tomorrow. — The editors