Horror is having a moment. In 2026, the genre is especially well-represented: new blood is dominating the box office through films like Backrooms and Obsession, established names like Sam Raimi and Damian McCarthy are at the top of their game, and long-running franchises like 28 Years Later and Resident Evil continue to stay relevant. But the most impressive piece of horror this year might just be found in the world of TV comedy: Widow’s Bay, a series that manages the delicate balance of mixing scares with laughs, while also doubling as a loving tribute to the genre. It’s the kind of combination that often doesn’t work, which is part of what makes the show so remarkable.
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Fox News AI Newsletter: Trump activates ‘tech force’
President Donald Trump’s administration is tasking an AI “tech force” to modernize systems. (Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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Welcome to Fox News’ Artificial Intelligence newsletter with the latest AI technology advancements.
IN TODAY’S NEWSLETTER:
– Inside Trump administration’s AI tech force designed to modernize government
– Elon Musk slams Anthropic AI models as ‘misanthropic’ and ‘evil’ in scathing social media post
– AI power players pour cash into competitive primaries as 2026 midterms heat up
‘TECH FORCE’: Inside Trump administration’s AI initiative designed to modernize government – FOX Business reports on the Trump administration’s latest initiative to overhaul federal efficiency, detailing an internal AI “tech force” tasked with modernizing antiquated government systems and streamlining operations.
TECH ALLIANCE: War Department to partner with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT, GenAI for military use – The Department of Defense is reportedly strengthening its technological arsenal through a strategic partnership with OpenAI, aiming to integrate ChatGPT and generative AI capabilities into military operations to maintain a strategic edge.
SCATHING POST: Elon Musk slams Anthropic AI models as ‘misanthropic’ and ‘evil’ – Tech billionaire Elon Musk took to social media to unleash a scathing attack on rival AI firm Anthropic, characterizing their models as “misanthropic” and “evil” in a post that highlights the intensifying ideological rift within Silicon Valley.
Elon Musk, chief executive officer of Tesla Inc., during the US-Saudi Investment Forum at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025 (Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
POWER PLAYERS: AI execs pour cash into competitive primaries as 2026 midterms heat up – With the 2026 midterm elections on the horizon, deep-pocketed investors and executives from the artificial intelligence sector are pouring cash into competitive primaries, hoping to shape the regulatory landscape for the booming technology.
OPINION: AI raises the stakes for national security — here is how to get it right – In this opinion piece, OpenAI’s Chris Lehane argues that the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence has dramatically raised the stakes for American national security, outlining a strategic framework to ensure the U.S. maintains its dominance without compromising safety.
OPINION: The 2028 election will be a referendum on our future in an AI-dominated world – As technology accelerates, this op-ed contends that the 2028 presidential election will serve as a critical referendum on humanity’s future, forcing voters to decide how the nation should navigate an increasingly AI-dominated world.
Children forming deep emotional connections with AI companions is raising questions among parents. (StockPlanets/Getty Images)
BATTLE FOR DOMINANCE: AI wars begin in new Super Bowl commercials – The battle for artificial intelligence dominance has moved to the advertising stage, as tech giants unleash a wave of new Super Bowl commercials designed to capture the public imagination and assert their position in the “AI wars.”
BOT TO THE FUTURE: Humanoid robots are getting smaller, safer and closer to home – Recent advancements in robotics are making humanoid machines smaller, safer, and more viable for domestic use, suggesting that a future where robots assist with daily household tasks is getting closer to reality.
MOYA’S DEBUT: ‘Warm-skinned’ AI robot with camera eyes is seriously creepy – A new development in robotics featuring “warm skin” and camera eyes has sparked a mix of fascination and unease, with many observers describing the lifelike yet artificial creation as “seriously creepy.”
Moya’s humanlike appearance is intentional, from her warm skin to subtle facial details designed to feel familiar rather than mechanical. (DroidUp)
DIGITAL DANGER: AI companions are reshaping teen emotional bonds – A growing trend of teenagers forming deep emotional connections with AI companions is raising questions among parents and psychologists about the long-term impact of synthetic relationships on social development and mental health.
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Widow’s Bay just wrapped up its first season — a second has already been confirmed — and it tells a story that at first sounds incredibly derivative. It takes place on an isolated island in New England, which has a sordid history due to what the locals believe is a curse. In the first episode, a terrifying fog rolls into town, suggesting that a powerful evil is waking up again. Cue the Stephen King comparisons.
But it’s not long before Widow’s Bay’s distinct brand of horror / comedy makes itself clear. The show is largely centered on the island’s hapless mayor, Tom (Matthew Rhys), who has a misguided desire to turn Widow’s Bay into a tourist destination that can rival Martha’s Vineyard and Cape Cod. This, of course, runs counter to the whole curse thing. And the incoming fog is just the first sign that things are not going to go well for him and his plan, though Tom ignores the signs at every opportunity.
Image: Apple
What makes the show work is that, at its core, it’s just a really scary and tense story. From the very first episode, when Tom is stressing out about a visiting travel writer from The New York Times, there’s a steadily rising sense of dread: a tour through the island’s history that’s full of stories of death and, uh, cannibalism; a calendar about wolves that for some reason also has car crash photos; a ferry captain who says simply “bad things happen here.” The show makes you feel as uneasy as the island’s residents.
That sensation only grows over the course of the season, as each episode explores a different horror genre while building on the cursed lore of the island. The second episode takes place in a clearly haunted hotel, complete with a killer clown; later there’s a demonic party planning book that leads to a terrifying and unsettling beach gathering. Tom’s assistant Patricia (Kate O’Flynn) gets hunted by a Jason Voorhees–style slasher villain, and there’s even a darkly inventive take on a drug trip sequence, complete with jarring time skips.
It’s because it’s such a well-crafted horror story that the comedy in Widow’s Bay hits so hard. It’s not the easiest genre mix to pull off, as creator and showrunner Katie Dippold — who knows a thing about how funny horror can be — told me ahead of the show’s premiere in April. “It can be a great combo, but it can also be a bad combo,” she explained, noting that projects that successfully blend the two genres are “few and far between.” As if to prove her point, the new Scary Movie released this month was entirely toothless.
But unlike more overt attempts at infusing horror with comedy, most of the gags in Widow’s Bay are comparatively subtle — and scary in their own way. When Tom is looking through a collection of board games at the local inn, he finds one simply called Teeth; inside, there’s nothing but a pair of pliers. When Patricia finally kills the “boogeyman” who has been stalking her, she keeps her shotgun trained on his corpse at all times — from the ambulance to cremation — just in case. Even the episode titles can be hilarious. The finale, where just about everything goes wrong, is called “We hope you enjoyed your time!”
Image: Apple
This means that the jokes not only fit into the eerie nature of the world, they actually heighten it. And that was the goal all along. “I never wanted to have a moment where something scary happens and the characters don’t react truthfully,” Dippold told me. “If you’re truthful, then eventually you’ll find the comedy. That was the very hard rule.”
This all comes to a head as the show wrapped up its first season. Leading into the finale, Tom was put in an impossible situation, forced to choose whether to kill his adorably inept secretary Ruth (K Callan) in order to end the curse for good, or doom the island by not acting. In the last episode, with the town’s residents and tourists stuck in a shelter due to a destructive storm, Tom finds himself in Ruth’s house, and it’s genuinely painful watching him try to decide the right path. But amidst all of this tension, there are still funny bits, like Ruth casually noting that an old boyfriend “got bit by an animal and became that animal,” or a cheerful instructional video on ritual sacrifice. And this being Widow’s Bay, things are a bit more complex than they appear, leaving Tom with an even more difficult task in front of him.
You don’t just have to take my word for it. Guillermo del Toro recently called the series “hands down one of the most mesmerizing acts of narrative prestidigitation in horror.” That’s some high praise. But so is the fact that Widow’s Bay has managed to claim its own distinct lane in such a crowded moment. The finale title turned out to be incredibly accurate: I did, in fact, enjoy my time.
The first season of Widow’s Bay is streaming now on Apple TV.
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That suspicious text about a package, toll bill or account problem may look harmless at first. You glance at it, see a familiar brand name and think, “I’ll just check.” That quick tap can lead straight into a professional scam funnel.
The FBI, Google and Black Lotus Labs helped disrupt a massive China-based phishing-as-a-service operation known as Outsider Enterprise. Authorities say the operation powered fake websites built to steal credit card numbers, passwords and other personal information.
What makes this one especially troubling is how polished these scams have become. Criminals no longer need to build every fake page from scratch. They can rent phishing kits, use AI to speed up the work and send waves of scam texts to unsuspecting people. That should make every one of us pause before tapping a link in a text.
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GENAI, THE FUTURE OF FRAUD AND WHY YOU MAY BE AN EASY TARGET
The FBI, Google and Black Lotus Labs helped disrupt a China-based phishing service that used fake texts and scam sites to steal personal data. (Anna Barclay/Getty Images)
What is the Outsider Enterprise phishing scam?
Outsider Enterprise was a phishing-as-a-service operation. In other words, it gave other criminals the tools to run scams. Instead of one scammer typing out sloppy messages from a laptop, this setup worked more like a criminal software business. It offered phishing kits, fake websites and infrastructure that helped criminals impersonate trusted brands.
Google says the network was tied to more than 9,000 fake websites and over 1 million fraudulent URLs. Those sites were designed to look real enough to trick people into entering credit card details, passwords or other sensitive information.
The scams often started with text messages. Some appeared to come from major wireless carriers, delivery services, toll agencies or other familiar companies. That’s what makes these attacks so dangerous. The text may arrive in the same place you get real alerts from banks, delivery services or phone providers.
How AI phishing texts stole credit card data
AI helped give this operation speed and polish. In a civil lawsuit filed in federal court in New York, Google alleges the phishing kit used AI tools, including Gemini, to help criminals create fraudulent sites and scam content. That means the messages can look cleaner, the websites can appear more convincing and the operation can move faster.
That’s a big shift. Many people still expect scam messages to have bad grammar, strange wording or obvious red flags. Those clues still show up, but they are becoming less reliable. A fake page can now look like the real thing. A scam text can sound normal. A payment request can appear urgent without feeling ridiculous. That to me is scary because the average person has less time to spot the trap.
How big was the Outsider Enterprise scam?
The scale was huge. Google says 2.5 million messages were sent to Android users from Outsider Enterprise infrastructure over a two-week period in May. Android users flagged 55,000 of those messages as fraudulent.
FBI Cyber Division Assistant Director Brett Leatherman said Outsider infrastructure was tied to an estimated 3.87 million stolen credit cards and $1.9 billion in losses.
That number tells you something important. These scams are not random annoyances. They are part of an organized criminal business built to reach huge numbers of people fast.
How the FBI and Google disrupted Outsider Enterprise
The action against Outsider Enterprise included both technical and legal steps. The FBI said the technical takedown was dubbed Operation Ghost Hook. Leatherman also tied the effort to Operation Riptide, a broader FBI campaign aimed at disrupting cybercrime operations.
The FBI and its partners seized administration servers, phishing domains, a Shopify storefront and about $100,000 from payment wallets tied to the operation.
Google’s civil lawsuit is part of the broader effort to disrupt Outsider Enterprise’s infrastructure. The company says it is working with AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon to help block fraudulent messages before they reach subscribers. Google says its Android protections also help detect suspicious calls and block malicious messages. Still, no filter catches everything.
GLOBAL SCAM CRACKDOWN LEADS TO 276 ARRESTS
Authorities say Outsider Enterprise powered thousands of phishing websites designed to steal credit cards, passwords and other sensitive information. (FBI)
Why text scams fool so many people
Text scams often arrive when you are distracted. Maybe you are heading into a meeting, paying bills or waiting for a package. A message about an account problem can make you react fast before you stop to question it.
Scammers count on that split-second panic. A fake text might say your delivery failed, your phone bill has an issue or your account will be locked. The link then sends you to a page that looks real enough to steal your login, credit card number or one-time code. The whole trick depends on speed. The less time you spend thinking, the better the scam works.
Ways to stay safe from AI phishing scams
These steps can help you avoid the fake texts, fake websites and account traps that phishing operations rely on.
1) Do not tap links in unexpected texts
Treat unexpected links like a warning sign, even when the message looks official. Go directly to the company’s app or website instead. Type the address yourself or use a saved bookmark.
2) Slow down when a message creates urgency
Scammers want you to panic. Take a breath before you act. Real companies usually give you more than a few minutes to fix an issue.
3) Check the web address before entering anything
Look closely at the domain name before typing in a password, card number or code. A scam site may use one extra word, a strange ending or a spelling that looks close to the real company.
4) Never share one-time passcodes
A legitimate company will not ask you to send back a one-time code by text. If someone asks for a code, assume they are trying to break into your account.
5) Avoid entering payment details from a text link
If a text asks for a credit card number, password or account login, stop. Open the official app or call the company using a number from your card, bill or trusted website.
6) Turn on spam protection on your phone
Spam protection can help move suspicious texts out of your main inbox before you accidentally tap a bad link.
On iPhone: Go to Settings > Apps > Messages > Unknown Senders > turn on Screen Unknown Senders. You can also open Messages, tap Filters and review messages under Unknown Senders or spam/junk filtering when available.
For suspicious texts on iPhone, use Report Junk when it appears under the message.
On Samsung using Google Messages: Open Google Messages > tap your profile icon or initials > tap Messages settings > tap Spam protection or Protection & Safety > turn on Enable spam protection.
For suspicious texts on Samsung, open the message in Google Messages, tap the three dots, tap Details and choose Block & report spam.
IS THAT TRAFFIC TICKET TEXT A SCAM OR REAL?
The FBI said infrastructure linked to the phishing service was tied to millions of stolen credit cards and billions in losses. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
7) Lock down your wireless carrier account
Set a strong account password and add a carrier PIN when your provider offers one. This helps protect your phone number from criminals who try to hijack accounts or reset passwords.
8) Use a data removal service
Scammers often sound convincing because they already know something about you. That information can come from people-search sites, data brokers, old breaches or public records. Consider using a data removal service to reduce how much personal information is floating around online. Check out my top picks for data removal services and get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web by visiting Cyberguy.com
9) Use strong antivirus protection
Strong antivirus software can help block malicious links, fake websites and phishing pages before they cause damage. It adds another layer of protection when a scam slips past your first line of defense. Get my picks for the best 2026 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android & iOS devices at Cyberguy.com
10) Use a password manager
A password manager can help you avoid reusing passwords across accounts. It can also make fake login pages easier to spot because it may not autofill your credentials on a bogus site.
11) Turn on two-factor authentication
Use two-factor authentication (2FA) on important accounts, especially email, banking and wireless carrier accounts. An authentication app or hardware security key gives you stronger protection than texted codes.
12) Consider virtual card numbers for online shopping
Some banks and card issuers offer virtual card numbers. These can limit the damage if a shopping site, fake checkout page or scam link steals payment details.
13) Watch your credit card statements
Check your accounts often for small mystery charges. Criminals sometimes test a stolen card with a small purchase before going bigger.
14) Freeze your credit if your personal data was exposed
A credit freeze can stop criminals from opening new accounts in your name. You can freeze your credit for free with Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
15) Report scam texts
Forward suspicious texts to 7726, which spells SPAM. You can also report phishing attempts to the company being impersonated and to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at IC3.gov.
Kurt’s key takeaways
Taking down Outsider Enterprise is great news. But let’s be real here. Scammers are not going away because one operation got hit. What worries me most is how real these fake texts and websites can look now. AI gives criminals another way to clean up the wording, copy trusted brands and move faster than most people expect. So my advice is simple. Don’t tap the link. Open the company’s real app or type in the website yourself. Those few extra seconds can be the difference between staying safe and handing a scammer your credit card, password or one-time code.
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Does this takedown make you feel better about the fight against scammers, or do you still think the crooks are one step ahead? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com
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Father’s Day is nearly here. Hopefully, you already got a gift for dads you care about, but if not, here’s a quick, easy recommendation for anyone who enjoys a good comic strip. The Complete Calvin and Hobbes contains every one of Bill Watterson’s beloved strips made during the comic’s ten-year run from 1985 through 1995, packed in three deluxe hardcover books, for $89.48 at Amazon when you check the on-page coupon. The set originally sold for $225, but it’s often available for around $130. This is the best price I’ve seen it sell for.
The lighthearted, kid-friendly comics couldn’t be more different from Watterson’s darker, adult-themed The Mysteries, which brought him out of retirement with its 2023 launch.
If you’re thinking of getting dad a book, but aren’t sure Calvin and Hobbes is the right pick, there are some good deals happening on gorgeous hardcover versions of The Lord of the Rings and other tales in the franchise. The deluxe slipcase hardcover version of The Lord of the Rings that includes illustrations by the author J.R.R. Tolkien himself is $105.14 at Amazon, its lowest price in about a year.
He can go further back in the lore with Silmarillion, the prequel to The Hobbit and to The Lord of the Rings. It, too, is illustrated, comes in a bold hardcover, and is down to its lowest price in a while. The book costs $30.50 at Amazon, while the slipcase hardcover version of The Hobbit that contains illustrations is $81.41.
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