Welcome back to your daily memorandum talking tech, business, AI, markets, and more. 🗞️

In today’s edition we are tackling the following:

🚀 FAA clears SpaceX to fly Starship again after May booster failure.
🍎 Apple says ex-employee exploited 'rare' bug to steal files for OpenAI.
🍿 12 states file lawsuit to block Paramount's $110B Warner Bros. deal.
⚛️ General Fusion soars in debut as first publicly traded fusion company.
🚢 Iranian missiles hit Emirati tankers in Strait of Hormuz, killing sailor.

TECHNOLOGY

• FAA clears SpaceX to fly Starship again after May booster failure (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: CNBC, Investing.com}}

  • The FAA approved new Starship flights after SpaceX identified the probable cause of May's booster failure.

  • The next launch could come Thursday, July 16, carrying the first third-generation Starlink satellites.

  • It's SpaceX's first Starship test since its record $86B IPO made it publicly traded.

• Apple says ex-employee exploited 'rare' bug to steal files for OpenAI (Firstpost)
  ^{_{More: TechCrunch, MSN}}

  • Apple is suing OpenAI, alleging trade secret theft and improper recruiting of former Apple employees.

  • Engineer Chang Liu allegedly exploited a zero-day authentication bug to access confidential files after leaving.

  • Apple fixed the bug, cut Liu's access, and says server logs show only he exploited it.

• Uber's product chief on hotels, robotaxis & avoiding 'everything for everyone' (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: Yahoo!, Tech Buzz}}

  • Uber now offers hotel bookings, concierge shopping, and boat rentals beyond ride-hailing and delivery.

  • New AV Labs unit collects driving data through sensor-equipped vehicles, separate from Uber's driver network.

  • The data operation gives Uber leverage and optionality with autonomous vehicle partners like Waymo.

BUSINESS

• 12 states file lawsuit to block Paramount's $110B Warner Bros. deal (CNBC)
  ^{_{More: CNN, NY Times, NPR}}

  • 12 state attorneys general sued to block Paramount Skydance's proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.

  • California Attorney General Rob Bonta is leading the coalition challenging the $110B merger.

  • The U.S. Department of Justice and various global jurisdictions have already approved the deal.

• General Fusion soars in debut as first publicly traded fusion company (Bloomberg)
  ^{_{More: TechCrunch, MSN}}

  • General Fusion began trading on Nasdaq as GFUZ, with shares up 40% by midday Monday.

  • After redemptions and fees, the de-SPAC may yield under $30M, alongside $108M privately raised.

  • The listing follows a cash crunch that forced layoffs and a $22M 'pay to play' round.

• LAPD lets Flock contract expire, citing civil liberties & privacy concerns (Business Insider)
  ^{_{More: LA Times, TechCrunch, Yahoo!}}

  • The LAPD is letting its three-year contract with license plate surveillance firm Flock Safety expire Saturday.

  • Officials cited 'serious concerns' over civil liberties, privacy, and data collected by Flock's cameras.

  • The department reportedly wants new contract language addressing privacy and data storage before resuming services.

MARKETS

WORLD

• Iranian missiles hit Emirati tankers in Strait of Hormuz, killing sailor (Reuters)
  ^{_{More: BBC, The Guardian}}

  • Iranian cruise missiles struck two Emirati oil tankers, killing one Indian crew member and wounding eight.

  • The Mombasa B and Al Bahyah sustained 'significant damage' while transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

  • Crews brought fires on both tankers under control, ADNOC's shipping arm confirmed Tuesday.

• Anthropic begins localizing Claude pricing for India, its second-largest market (Firstpost)
  ^{_{More: Indian Express, TechCrunch, AIBase}}

  • Rupee pricing is appearing for some Indian users, though UPI payments remain unavailable, unlike ChatGPT.

  • India accounts for 5.8% of global Claude usage, making it Anthropic's biggest market after the U.S.

  • Claude Pro costs ₹2k (about $21) monthly in India, versus $17 in the U.S.

• Trump welcomes new Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi to White House (AP)
  ^{_{More: ABC, CBS42, Seattle Times}}

  • Trump hosts Iraq's new prime minister Tuesday after strongly backing his bid for office.

  • Businessman Ali al-Zaidi emerged as a consensus candidate following months of post-election deadlock.

  • Trump opposed rival Nouri al-Maliki, threatening to cut U.S. aid over his Tehran ties.

FUTURISM

• Video shows quadcopter drone rescuing man from raging floodwaters in China (Futurism)
  ^{_{More: NY Times, Yahoo!}}

  • A large quadcopter drone plucked a stranded flood victim from an oil tanker in Guangxi.

  • Xinhua footage shows the harnessed man carried above raging waters after a rescue worker secured him.

  • Floodwaters reached halfway up transmission poles and well beyond the first floor of buildings.

• As TV Time shuts down, its founder builds new tracking app Bingers (Engadget)
  ^{_{More: TechCrunch, Yahoo!}}

  • TV Time's pending shutdown prompted over 25k users to petition against the app's closure.

  • Original co-founder Antonio Pinto is building Bingers, rebuilding TV Time's best features while fixing longstanding issues.

  • With 26.4M lifetime installs, TV Time's community could seed the new app's user base.

• North Carolina sheriff unveils humanoid robot for hostage negotiation duties (Futurism)
  ^{_{More: Yahoo!}}

  • Forsyth County Sheriff Bobby Kimbrough introduced a Unitree G1 robot to stand in during standoffs.

  • The robo-deputy, developed with UNC partners, would negotiate, breach doors, and record inside houses.

  • Critics note humanoid robots remain too immature for fine motor tasks or fast-developing crises.

• Hunting for AI roles eats hours across careers pages, internal referrals, group chats, and a dozen overlapping boards*

  • The Athyna AI Job Board does the watching for you and matches openings to your profile in the background.

  • When a role hits a 75% matching index or higher, we notify you with details and a direct apply link.

CONTENT

• Wix CEO Avishai Abrahami on the truth about vibe-coding economics (20VC)

  • Wix generates over $2B in ARR with a market cap near $2.1B, down from $17B.

  • Abrahami says acquisition Base44, now at $150M ARR, gets zero credit in Wix's valuation.

  • He discusses building Wix's own AI model, talent retention, and whether SMBs fear AI.

• Recruiter Matt Cook unpacks what's changed in engineering hiring lately (The Startup Podcast)

  • Scouut co-founder Matt Cook joins Yaniv Bernstein to discuss 'team debt,' the AI-era sequel to tech debt.

  • Cook argues AI acts as an appetite suppressant for headcount, making hiring a last resort.

  • Top 'software factory builder' engineers now command $400k+ for building airtight AI-based infrastructure.

• Tibo Louis-Lucas shares how he grew Tweet Hunter & Taplio (This Week in Startups)

  • Tibo Louis-Lucas explains how building in public helped his creator tools quickly surpass $1M ARR.

  • Jason's $11 AI tool PodMeme reached 1.1M views within days from one screenshot post.

  • The episode also covers Apple's OpenAI lawsuit, Uber versus Waymo, and Flock Safety backlash.

EXTRAS

• Uber's robotaxi lobbying puts it on collision course with Waymo (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: The Verge, Yahoo!}}

  • A Washington, D.C. autonomous vehicle bill has become a test case for Uber's robotaxi strategy.

  • Uber opposes the bill, arguing it displaces human drivers and hands Waymo a monopoly.

  • Uber instead lobbies for hybrid networks where robotaxis operate alongside human ride-hailing drivers.

• Ukraine & nine countries form coalition against ballistic missile threats (AP)
  ^{_{More: Euronews, LA Times}}

  • 10 nations announced plans in Paris to build shared ballistic missile defense capability for Europe.

  • The coalition draws on Ukraine's four years of experience defending against Russia's missile attacks.

  • Leaders including Germany, France, and the U.K. cited the growing ballistic missile threat.

• Australia's teen social media ban fails first age check hurdle, study finds (Reuters)
  ^{_{More: NBC, Investing.com}}

  • Platforms sought no age proof for any of 50 test accounts declaring themselves 16.

  • Australia's world-first law bars under-16s from Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube since December.

  • Advisers say the original trial overlooked how easily teens circumvent checks with false birthdates.

AND MORE

• Why tech's already rich & successful winners are grinding all over again.

• Massive AI buildout drives up laptop & electricity costs, fueling inflation fears.

• Roko’s Basilisk skips the buzz words and cuts straight to what moves markets, products, and careers.*

• Waze rolls out new AI-powered features & fresh customization updates for drivers.

• X tweaks its algorithm to feel more friendly & less combative.

• Taiwan's second-largest chipmaker begins Singapore mass production as Citi sees improving outlook.

• Satya Nadella issues a shocking warning to companies relying on AI.