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July 19, 2026, 2:40 PM
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Mediagazer
memeorandum
WeSmirchTop News
| Bloomberg: |
Alibaba launches a 2.4T parameter Qwen3.8 Max preview that it says rivals frontier AI models and is second only to Fable 5, plans to make it “open-weight soon” — Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. launched a preview version of its flagship Qwen3.8 Max model, which it described as comparable …
More: The Decoder, South China Morning Post, and Tech Times
X: @alibaba_qwen, @shuai_bai_, @yuchenj_uw, @perrymetzger, @kimmonismus, @sudoingx, @guohao_li, @yzhang_cs, @emollick, @yacinemtb, @dannolan, @natolambert, @scaling01, and @suchenzang. Forums: Hacker News
| Mark Gurman / Bloomberg: |
Thoughts on why Jony Ive, a close friend of Laurene Powell Jobs, isn't named in Apple's OpenAI suit; sources: Apple tests AI to record Genius Bar customer chats — Also: The company tries out AI recording for Genius Bar appointments. — This week, we'll look at why Apple's massive lawsuit …
More: Gizmodo, Daring Fireball, AppleInsider, AppleInsider, AppleInsider, and MacRumors
X: @markgurman, @markgurman, and @markgurman
Forums: r/apple and MacRumors Forums
| Lauren McCarthy / New York Times: |
Kalshi and Polymarket bets on the FIFA World Cup final top $5.69B; Dune Analytics says total wagers on the platforms surpassed $50B for the first time in June — When Argentina and Spain take the field on Sunday for the World Cup final, more than $5.69 billion will be riding on the winner …
More: CNBC, Bitcoin News, The Crypto Times, and The Daily Caller
| Wall Street Journal: |
More: The Independent, Washington Examiner, Raw Story, and Salon
X: @joshconstine, @travisakers, and @bobbyallyn
| Andrew Hill / Financial Times: |
AI is reshaping entry-level professional services jobs, as companies redesign hiring, training, and workplace culture rather than simply cut junior roles — Here are the ways leading companies are already responding to the AI revolution in professional services| Haley Zimmerman / Financial Times: |
Big US pizza delivery chains are struggling as apps such as DoorDash and Uber Eats give independent pizzerias and other restaurants greater market access — Large corporate chains lose their edge as services such as DoorDash and Uber Eats level the playing field| Alexandra Lindsay / The San Francisco Standard: |
Analysis: OpenAI and Anthropic employees are donating to campaigns more heavily and cohesively than Google, Meta, and Airbnb employees did post-IPO — San Francisco is still waiting for the AI IPOs — the wave of money from Anthropic and OpenAI millionaires and billionaires that is likely … | Wall Street Journal: |
Sources: CIA operative Jonny Gannon spied on G42 to probe its China ties and helped the UAE gain expanded access to US AI chips by allaying US suspicions — While conducting espionage against powerful sheikh's tech company, Jonny Gannon helped Gulf country quash Washington suspicions about China ties| Ann Davis Vaughan / The Information: |
Permit hurdles push up costs for AI data centers; Oracle pivoted from gas turbines to costlier fuel cells for its Project Jupiter in NM, costing billions more — Building an AI supercampus increasingly means paying more than you bargained for. Oracle's attempt to salvage a proposed $165 billion project …
X: @goeun_6121, @semianalysis_, @semianalysis_, @semianalysis_, @amir, and @amir. Bluesky: @jessefelder.com
| Joshua Cohen / Ars Technica: |
A look at AI's potential impact on insurance-coverage decisions like prior authorization as the Trump admin starts to pilot using AI to evaluate Medicare claims — If you're like me, you or a loved one has struggled through the process of gaining pre-approval for the medical care that your physician has recommended.| Ann Cao / South China Morning Post: |
Alibaba open-sources its chip software, following similar plays from Huawei and Moore Threads, as Chinese GPU makers try to break the dominance of Nvidia's CUDA — The firm's chip unit T-Head aims to lower migration barriers to Zhenwu AI computing architectures, following similar initiatives by Huawei and Moore Threads
X: @tphuang
| Zusha Elinson / Wall Street Journal: |
A profile of businessman Sebastian Rucci, whose past ventures were subject to legal probes, as he bids to build California's biggest data center, a $10B project — Sebastian Rucci's past has become a theme in opposition to his proposal. He counters: 'Do I look like a guy that's going away?'
X: @wsj
| Reuters: |
Grassroots org HumansFirst says it organized 142 protests across 42 US states on July 18 against what it calls the “unaccountable” buildout of data centers — Opponents of the rapid buildout of data centers held 142 protests across 42 states on Saturday in the first nationwide effort …
More: WAGA-TV, Washington Post, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, WKU Public Radio, Cowboy State Daily, Detroit Free Press, and The Straits Times
X: @hulkwiththetism, @alexbronzini, @katiemiller, @realhumansfirst, @kyliejanekremer, @realhumansfirst, @zenhoneycutt, @andrewcraft, @realhumansfirst, @amykremer, and @1zzyzyx1
Bluesky: @cortneymckee, @cortneymckee, and @virginiaheffernan
Forums: r/politics and r/technology
| Geraldine McKelvie / The Guardian: |
UK's incoming PM Andy Burnham is expected to scrap Keir Starmer's plans for digital ID cards; last year a petition opposing the cards attracted ~3M signatures — Incoming PM will reallocate unspecified resources from unpopular plan to helping with cost of living
More: BBC, Breitbart, Reuters, The Standard, Telegraph, Metro.co.uk, HuffPost, The Sun, NewsMax.com, The Independent, Mirror, GB News, and Samizdata
X: @arwenstar, @alanvibe, and @rupertlowe10. Bluesky: @leviathanwilde. Mastodon: @openrightsgroup@social …
Forums: r/europe, r/transgenderUK, r/gbnews, r/unitedkingdom, r/ukpolitics, r/LabourUK, and r/uknews
| Bloomberg: |
Sources: Kimi developer Moonshot told investors it is preparing for a Hong Kong IPO in as early as six months; its ARR hit $300M in June, up from $200M in April — Moonshot AI has told investors it's preparing to list in as early as six months, seizing the opportunity to tap capital markets … | 9to5Mac: |
Analysis finds 60+ “jacket apps” on the App Store disguised as simple games and utilities that become gambling apps when accessed from Brazilian IP addresses — An investigation by 9to5Mac reveals dozens of apps that disguise gambling platforms as simple games and utilities.
More: Daring Fireball, Ghacks, Digital Trends, iThinkDifferent, and Voice Of Emirates. Forums: r/apple
| Leo Schwartz / The Information: |
How the Trump administration shifted from a “light-touch” approach to AI policy to an interventionist stance that led to restrictions on top AI models in the US — In January 2025, just three days after entering office for his second term, President Donald Trump signed … | Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge: |
A review of Microsoft's 13-inch Surface Laptop shows 8GB of RAM is not enough for a good Windows 11 experience; PC makers have unveiled upcoming 8GB laptops — Last year, Microsoft's 13-inch Surface Laptop quickly became one of my favorite thin-and-light Windows notebooks.
More: ZDNET, BGR, iThinkDifferent, and Neowin
Bluesky: @modestholdings.com. Mastodon: @kim_harding@mastodon.scot. Forums: r/pcmasterrace and r/Surface
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From Mediagazer
Lily Ford / The Hollywood Reporter:Katharine Q. Seelye / New York Times:
Brian Steinberg / Variety: