Alvaro Lopez Ortega / 2026-07-09 Briefing

Created Thu, 09 Jul 2026 13:04:12 +0000 Modified Thu, 09 Jul 2026 13:05:30 +0000
2173 Words

Interpol arrested 5,811 suspects and seized $293 million in a global anti-fraud operation across 97 countries. The U.S. Justice Department warned lawyers to expect less cooperation from Binance on crypto investigations, marking a shift after its 2023 settlement. Leaked renders of Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Z Flip 8, plus new Watch models, emerged ahead of July’s Unpacked event. Sonos laid off top design executives including VP Dana Krieger, citing flatter management. Keygen Church released “Oscuro Domine,” an interactive track.

🔒 Security & Privacy

Interpol arrests 5,811, seizes $293M in anti-fraud op across 97 countries

Law enforcement agencies arrested 5,811 suspects and seized $293 million in illicit assets during “Operation First Light 2026,” a global anti-fraud operation spanning 97 countries that targeted social engineering scams and money laundering. The operation, coordinated by INTERPOL, also identified over 142,000 victims worldwide and blocked more than 31,000 bank accounts.

Hacker claims sale of alleged Nike customer database with millions of records

A hacker is claiming to sell a Nike customer database with millions of records, but researchers found the sample data messy and duplicated, suggesting it likely originated from a third party rather than Nike. The threat actor is a newbie with no prior forum history, raising doubts about the breach’s legitimacy.

Brig. Gen. Eric Widmar, senior legal counsel to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, is retiring early for personal family reasons. His departure extends a pattern of top military leaders and lawyers leaving under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, including the heads of Army forces in Europe, the Army chief of staff, and the Southern Command leader. Experts say the exodus of experienced, nonpartisan leadership is unprecedented and raises concerns about military professionalism and congressional oversight.

Remote Attestation

Remote attestation uses a TPM to cryptographically verify a host’s boot state—including hardware, firmware, kernel, and arbitrary checks—ensuring it hasn’t been compromised before granting network access. This method prevents attackers from persisting through reboots and can enforce security measures like encrypted root filesystems or certificate issuance tied to trusted measurements. While not immune to physical attacks, it provides strong guarantees against software-level compromises, including kernel and driver supply chain attacks.

Thief posed as Wi-Fi fixing hero, then stole priceless trophy

A thief impersonated a Wi-Fi technician to gain access to a location, then stole a priceless trophy. The incident highlights how appearing to perform a legitimate task can enable criminals to avoid suspicion.

💻 Software & Development

I Did Not Kill Stanley Lieber: How to draw (with 9front)

This document is a guide to drawing on the 9front operating system, detailing compatible hardware (e.g., ThinkPad X41t, X61t, X380 Yoga) and input methods (mouse, finger, external tablets like GAOMON S620, keyboard, and Drawterm). It emphasizes the need for a computer running 9front and a drawing device, with specific recommendations for two-in-one laptops and external tablets that work plug-and-play.

How to Achieve Pruning When Querying by Non-Partitioned Columns in PostgreSQL

While partition pruning in PostgreSQL traditionally works only when filtering by the partition key, the article presents methods to achieve pruning on non-partition key columns—such as session_id—by leveraging data patterns and clever indexing strategies. Using a table partitioned by timestamp, the author illustrates how typical queries on non-key columns scan all partitions, then demonstrates approaches to avoid that full scan.

two case studies of NaN

NaN’s property of not equaling itself leads to unexpected behavior in programming languages. Python’s list equality optimization compares object identity first, causing [nan] == [nan] to return True even though nan == nan is False. In Lua, using NaN in numerical for-loops produces unintuitive results because the implementation’s comparison checks handle NaN inconsistently.

Peace For All – Re: Factor

A programmer recreated an animation from a Uniqlo Peace for All t-shirt’s obfuscated bash code using Factor and Raylib. The program displays a looping “♥PEACE♥FOR♥ALL” message with sine-wave horizontal movement and color transitions from cyan to orange.

Experimenting with random() in CSS

The CSS random() function enables setting property values randomly for creative effects like bokeh. It is best supported in Polypane 29+, with partial support in Chromium 148+ (behind a flag) and Safari 26.2+, while Firefox has no support. The article includes interactive demos and code examples that work fully only in Polypane.

Postgres rewritten in Rust, now passing 100% of the Postgres regression tests

pgrust is a rewrite of PostgreSQL 18.3 in Rust that passes over 46,000 regression tests and maintains disk compatibility with existing Postgres data directories. It is not yet production-ready or performance-optimized, with the goal of making PostgreSQL easier to modify from within using Rust and AI-assisted programming.

I think I have LLM burnout

The author describes experiencing burnout from heavy daily use of LLMs, noting that while they find the tools productive, the repetitive patterns—such as false assumptions, hallucinations, and excessive emojis—have become wearing. Despite this, they continue to rely on LLMs for coding and casual queries, acknowledging the frustration but lacking a solution.

MIRA: Multiplayer Interactive World Models Trained on Rocket League

Researchers have developed MIRA, a system that trains interactive world models for multiplayer environments using Rocket League as a testbed. These models aim to predict game state dynamics and enable more sophisticated AI agents capable of real-time multi-agent cooperation and competition. The work demonstrates progress in applying world models to complex, interactive multiplayer scenarios.

Microsoft to switch off OWA Light after nearly two decades

Microsoft is discontinuing Outlook Web App (OWA) Light, its simplified web client for Exchange, after nearly two decades. The move reflects the diminishing need for a basic browser-based email interface.

Ubuntu emphasizes Arm64 support – and gets Rustier

Ubuntu is increasing its focus on Arm64 support and incorporating more Rust components, but the transition has encountered problems with the Rust-based coreutils.

📱 Mobile & Gadgets

Leaked renders: Galaxy Z Flip 8, Z Fold 8, Watch 9, Watch Ultra 2; Z Fold 8 likely wide foldable

Leaked renders from Android Headlines reveal the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 8, Z Fold 8, Watch 9, and Watch Ultra 2 ahead of the company’s July 22 Unpacked event. The Z Fold 8 is expected to be a wider, lighter foldable with a 5.5-inch QHD+ external screen, while the Z Flip 8 shows a design similar to its predecessor in three colors.

What Does a 13-Year-Old See on Snapchat in a Normal Week?

Two studies found that children and teens on Snapchat frequently encounter graphic violence, sexual content, and adult strangers, often driven by the platform’s algorithmic recommendations even during typical use. The research highlights that these harmful exposures occur without users actively seeking them, underscoring the need for safer platform design.

nubia Neo 5 GT Special Ed. gets first & only liquid-air dual active cooling in class

The nubia Neo 5 GT Special Edition has been launched, featuring the first Liquid and Air Dual Active Cooling System in its class. The device uses nubia’s revolutionary AquaCore thermal architecture to democratize premium gaming and is initially rolling out in Southeast Asia.

💰 Business & Finance

DOJ memo: lawyers in crypto cases to expect less Binance cooperation with new asset freeze rules

Binance has signaled it will reduce cooperation with U.S. authorities on cryptocurrency investigations, leading the Justice Department to warn its attorneys in an internal memo to expect less assistance. This marks a shift from Binance’s previous compliance posture following its 2023 guilty plea and $4.3 billion settlement.

Sonos layoffs include VP of Design Dana Krieger; CEO says move reduces management layers

Sonos has laid off top design and product executives, including vice president of design Dana Krieger, user experience head Kate Wojogbe, and home theater leader Scott Fink. The cuts raise concerns about the company’s ability to develop breakthrough products beyond short-term hardware updates.

Grubhub parent Wonder raising hundreds of millions at $9B valuation; founder Lore contribute $200M

Wonder, the parent company of Grubhub and Blue Apron, is raising hundreds of millions of dollars at a $9 billion valuation, with founder Marc Lore contributing $200 million. The funding round is reportedly intended to be the company’s last before a potential initial public offering.

Britain’s cloud habit has become a billion-pound risk

A 24-hour outage in a key AWS region could cost UK firms billions of pounds, researchers warn. The report highlights the financial risk of Britain’s heavy reliance on cloud services from a single provider.

Microsoft shifts to annual exchange rate price revision for cloudy products

Microsoft has changed its exchange rate price revision for cloud products from twice a year to an annual schedule, reducing customers’ opportunities to take advantage of currency fluctuations.

🚀 Science & Space

Spider venom kills varroa mites without harming honeybees

Peptides from the venom of Tasmanian cave spiders and giant Japanese funnel-web spiders kill Varroa destructor mites without harming honeybees, offering a potential new treatment for hive infestations. Researchers identified two peptides, Ht1a and Gg1a, which are fully biodegradable and could provide a sustainable alternative to synthetic acaricides facing resistance and contamination issues.

Scientist models way to make sure no one’s violating the ban on nuclear weapons in space

A scientist has developed a model to monitor compliance with the international treaty banning nuclear weapons in space. The approach aims to provide a verifiable method for ensuring no nation secretly deploys such weapons, addressing concerns about current political leaders’ adherence to the agreement.

New Horizons Pluto probe just woke itself up after 321 days of hibernation

The New Horizons Pluto probe has successfully awakened from a 321-day hibernation period. The spacecraft will resume its mission to explore the outer solar system, including a flyby of a Kuiper Belt object.

🎵 Arts & Entertainment

Keygen Church - Oscuro Domine

Keygen Church has released “Oscuro Domine,” a track or album presented with a visual interface that includes loading animations, playback controls, and a player code credited to Claude. The work is described as belonging to everyone, not just the creator.

Bonnie Tyler, singer of Total Eclipse of the Heart, dies aged 75

Bonnie Tyler, the gravel-voiced singer of “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” has died at age 75. The Welsh artist, born Gaynor Hopkins, was the only Welsh act to achieve a US number one and received an MBE in 2022. Her signature song surpassed a billion Spotify streams earlier this year.

How Donkey Kong Toppled Atari

Nintendo’s 1981 hit Donkey Kong saved the company financially and launched the Mario franchise. A licensing dispute arose when Coleco used an enhanced version on its Adam computer, angering Atari CEO Ray Kassar. This conflict, combined with the Adam’s failure, contributed to Atari’s downfall and reshaped the home console market.

Ergo: Long Form Philosophy Lectures

Ergo is a nonprofit organization that publishes long-form philosophical lectures online, free of ads and paywalls. The lectures feature respected thinkers known for their depth and clarity in teaching.