Starting Saturday, July 16, if you or someone or know is in a mental health crisis and thinking about suicide, there’s a new number to call: 988. And the call center holding that number will be called the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline instead of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
The three-digit number was created by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 2018, in collaboration with the Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Veterans Affairs, before President Donald Trump signed a National Suicide Hotline Designation Act in 2020. The code was created to make it easier to remember than the old 10-digit one — 1-800-273-8255 (TALK) — and to reduce the number of mental health calls to 911, as that number was designed to handle medical emergencies, not mental health ones. This is because people in a mental health crisis who currently dial 911 often end up sitting in busy emergency rooms, waiting for hours to receive the care they need, or interacting with police (a situation that often becomes dangerous or even deadly). Furthermore, you’ll have the option to text the 988 number instead if you aren’t comfortable talking on the phone to someone.
Currently, most states redirect distressed callers to out-of-state backup centers funded by the Lifeline because, as reported by Politico, state officials have been struggling to get the consistent funding they need to run their local hotline programs and hire enough staff to meet demand. Once the new number launches nationwide, they’ll expect to see a surge in calls seeking help.
The 988 number will connect you to the existing network of 200 local call centers staffed by trained counselors taking calls 24/7. The old aforementioned 10-digit number will still be active, but the calls will be re-routed to the new number once it launches.
Two new highly requested iCloud plugins just got added to ChatGPT, giving people who rely on Apple’s Mail and Calendar services a way to search emails, check appointments, and manage their schedules directly through the chatbot.
The integration is rolling out to all ChatGPT plans, including the free tier. You can access it on the web, desktop, and iOS.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.
Samsung’s scandal over its Game Optimizing Service, or GOS, has returned with a bill attached. South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission has tentatively fined the company 20.1 billion won, or about $15.1 million, over gaming claims made for the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S22, and Tab S8.
The regulator says Samsung promoted the devices as gaming powerhouses without disclosing that GOS placed preset CPU and GPU limits on certain demanding games. Samsung disputes that conclusion, calling GOS a legitimate way to manage heat.