Jul 24, 2026 · 4 min listen · Last updated July 24, 2026
From storyflo. This is your daily audio brief. Jessica, July 23rd. The day in ten — let's begin with the story drawing the most coverage. Let's get into it. First, from CBC News (Canada). Trump says Saudi nuclear deal hinges on normalizing relations with Israel.
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Trump says Saudi nuclear deal hinges on normalizing relations with Israel. Here's what we know
U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday a new agreement reached with Saudi Arabia for a civilian nuclear program will require the kingdom to normalize relations with Israel through the Abraham Accords, a move that Saudi Arabia has long rejected.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4, Episode 1 Review - Age of the Dinosaurs
Spoilers follow for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4, Episode 1, “Valles Marineris.”
Cowboys and dinosaurs!
But also… whoa. The USS Enterprise crew is responsible for… the creation of the human race!?
After the rash of high-concept Strange New Worlds episodes in recent seasons – musicals, animated hijinks, retro TV space adventures, etc. – getting a good old-fashioned adventure-of-the-week story here to kick off Season 4 is refreshing.
‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Takes a New Tact to Combat an Old Prequel Problem
As a prequel series approaching its predetermined endpoint, Season 4 faces familiar struggles. But as a return to the franchise's fun, curious, episodic storytelling, it's also making the most of the time it has left.
Google CEO distracts from Gemini 3.5 Pro delay with talk of Gemini 4 and monthly releases
Google CEO Sundar Pichai has sought to allay concerns over the delayed release of the Gemini 3.5 Pro large language model. He dodged questions about it in Google’s quarterly earnings call on Wednesday by focusing on the company’s next frontier AI model, Gemini 4, and plans to release subsequent LLMs at an almost monthly cadence.
His comments came a day after Google unveiled Gemini 3.6 Flash and 3.5 Flash Cyber but offered no update on the release of Gemini 3.5 Pro, the company’s delayed flagship reasoning model that many developers had expected to arrive weeks earlier.
Google CEO distracts from Gemini 3.5 Pro delay with talk of Gemini 4 and monthly releases
Google CEO Sundar Pichai has sought to allay concerns over the delayed release of the Gemini 3.5 Pro large language model. He dodged questions about it in Google’s quarterly earnings call on Wednesday by focusing on the company’s next frontier AI model, Gemini 4, and plans to release subsequent LLMs at an almost monthly cadence.
His comments came a day after Google unveiled Gemini 3.6 Flash and 3.5 Flash Cyber but offered no update on the release of Gemini 3.5 Pro, the company’s delayed flagship reasoning model that many developers had expected to arrive weeks earlier.
Google CEO distracts from Gemini 3.5 Pro delay with talk of Gemini 4 and monthly releases
Google CEO Sundar Pichai has sought to allay concerns over the delayed release of the Gemini 3.5 Pro large language model. He dodged questions about it in Google’s quarterly earnings call on Wednesday by focusing on the company’s next frontier AI model, Gemini 4, and plans to release subsequent LLMs at an almost monthly cadence.
His comments came a day after Google unveiled Gemini 3.6 Flash and 3.5 Flash Cyber but offered no update on the release of Gemini 3.5 Pro, the company’s delayed flagship reasoning model that many developers had expected to arrive weeks earlier.
Trump says Saudi nuclear deal hinges on kingdom joining Abraham Accords with Israel
So I dug up some info on this US-Saudi nuclear deal. It's confirmed that the deal requires Saudi Arabia to join the Abraham Accords with Israel, which is a pretty big ask. The agreement itself is pretty straightforward - it doesn't allow for uranium enrichment or any kind of military nuclear program. It was signed by US Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Saudi Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman.
What's interesting is that lawmakers are already raising concerns about potential pathways for nuclear weapons development. They're worried that Saudi Arabia might find ways to circumvent the agreement and get around the restrictions. And to make things even more complicated, this announcement comes at a time when the US and Israel are launching military operations against Iran.
It's worth noting that the US has been trying to get Saudi Arabia to join the Abraham Accords for a while now, but it's not clear if they'll actually agree to it. The deal's been in the works for months, and it's still not clear what kind of concessions Saudi Arabia will have to make in order to get on board.
I also found out that some lawmakers are already pushing for more oversight and transparency around the deal. They're worried that the administration is moving too fast and not doing enough to address their concerns. It's going to be an interesting few weeks as this all plays out.
On the markets — Kalshi traders have been actively repricing this story in the last day.
Uber cuts 10% of customer-service jobs and, for the first time, blames AI
So Uber just cut 10% of its customer-service jobs, which is a significant chunk of their community operations team. This is notable because it's the first time they're directly blaming AI for the decision. They're saying it's part of a broader effort to simplify operations, strengthen in-person collaboration, and lean into AI.
Apparently, this is a big shift for Uber, as they've traditionally been hesitant to point to AI as a reason for layoffs. But now they're embracing the idea that AI can take over some of those customer-service roles, freeing up human staff to focus on more complex issues.
The community operations team handles a lot of the day-to-day interactions with customers, so this change could have a big impact on how people experience Uber. It's unclear what this means for the future of customer service at the company, but it's definitely an interesting development.
It's worth noting that this is part of a larger trend in the tech industry, where companies are increasingly turning to AI to handle customer service tasks. It's a way to cut costs and improve efficiency, but it can also lead to a less personal experience for customers.
Overall, this is a significant move for Uber, and it will be interesting to see how it plays out in the long term.
Google Fined $1 Billion by EU Over Search, Android Practices
The EU just hit Google with a €890 million fine, which is about $1 billion. This is the latest move in the EU's effort to rein in Big Tech. The fine is for Google's practice of favoring its own products in search results, like shopping and travel services, and also for restricting Android app developers from using alternative payment systems outside the Google Play Store.
The EU says Google's dominance in search and Android should be used to benefit users, not just Google's own products. They're calling for Google to make changes within 60 days or face additional penalties of up to 5% of its annual revenue. Google is pushing back, saying the required changes would degrade its products for European users.
This decision is part of a broader effort by European regulators to loosen the grip of dominant digital platforms on online discovery and distribution. It could reshape how consumers find news, compare products, and access competing services on Google's ecosystem. Google has already been fined over $11 billion by the EU since 2017, making the EU the world's most aggressive tech watchdog.
The ruling also comes at a time when Google's parent company, Alphabet, just reported a quarterly profit of $112 billion. The fine is symbolic, but it's not likely to have a huge immediate financial impact on Google.
The decision is also a sign that European regulators won't back down from scrutinizing Big Tech, even as companies like Google, Meta, and others expand their AI-powered search, recommendations, and consumer services. This could become a major battleground as AI reshapes how people discover news, information, and entertainment online.
Uber cuts 10% of customer service staff as AI replaces human roles
Uber cut 10% of customer service staff due to AI gains, marking the first time the company explicitly linked layoffs to artificial intelligence
The post Uber cuts 10% of customer service staff as AI replaces human roles appeared first on Crypto Briefing.