Sal Rodriguez 🕷

Journalist spending the summer covering the 2026 World Cup. Follow my newsletter "The 2026 Dispatch."
Signal: 281-409-3516 📧: [email protected]

[Sal Rodriguez 🕷 @sal19]

Exactly 1 month ahead of the 2026 World Cup’s kickoff, I’m launching a Substack focused on the quadrennial tournament. I hope you consider subscribing ⚽️🙏🏽🎉 https://t.co/Mk5C7Jc2yt

[Techmeme @Techmeme]

Sources: Meta has repeatedly delayed plans to release the Muse Spark API due to bugs and infrastructure needs; Meta says it plans to release it this month (@meghanbobrowsky / Wall Street Journal)

(Visit Techmeme dot com for the link and full context!)

[Sal Rodriguez 🕷 @sal19]

Big one on The 2026 Dispatch today: I spoke with Fox Sports' @TNTerens on his journey to the 2026 World Cup booth https://t.co/EoJL8Xghk9

[Thomas Kurian @ThomasOrTK]

Today we’re introducing Google AI Threat Defense - a comprehensive AI-powered cybersecurity solution designed to help continuously monitor for and stop AI-powered threats before they can impact your business. Here’s how it works:

1. AI Threat Defense uses our cybersecurity platform @wiz_io to scan and prioritize what applications and systems have the highest security risk.
2. Gemini and other frontier AI models can then autonomously perform continual deep scanning of your applications - starting with those at the highest risk - to identify security vulnerabilities.
3. The capabilities of CodeMender - a new software repair agent - are then used to verify and accelerate the patching of vulnerabilities.
4. And our @wiz_io autonomous agents continuously test your systems to find unknown vulnerabilities before adversaries do so that you can remediate them before you are attacked.

While other model providers focus on using AI to find and flag vulnerabilities, Google AI Threat Defense actively prioritizes your most critical real-world risks and accelerates their remediation using a variety of models since no single model finds a superset of the vulnerabilities found by all other models.

[Sal Rodriguez 🕷 @sal19]

Spain is one of the 2026 #WorldCup favorites. I got to chat with Spain Sporting Director Aitor Karanka about the team’s ambitions, an MLB he barely remembers and why the country chose Chattanooga, TN, for its base camp https://t.co/HjRxVnVPc6

[Sal Rodriguez 🕷 @sal19]

France vs. Senegal is the group match I’m most excited for, but here are the 10 more #WorldCup games to circle on your calendar https://t.co/WGpHnQeBWa

[Sal Rodriguez 🕷 @sal19]

T minus 19 days until kickoff #WorldCup

[Sal Rodriguez 🕷 @sal19]

When it comes to the #WorldCup’s Group D which features the US, I’m expecting a bit of an upset. Here are my predictions and analysis of the group: https://t.co/MdWCirhOpL

[Sal Rodriguez 🕷 @sal19]

For Jelly Roll and the entire nation of Italy’s, Shakira’s new #WorldCup song must be a painful listen https://t.co/didADKYdDp

[Sal Rodriguez 🕷 @sal19]

@Rick_Devens Incredible move 🙌🏽👏🏽

[Sal Rodriguez 🕷 @sal19]

@sherman4949 Brings to mind one of my favorite tech memes

[Sal Rodriguez 🕷 @sal19]

@tim_bays For better or worse, yes

[Sal Rodriguez 🕷 @sal19]

Sure seems like Meta is sunsetting its once ambitious play to build out the metaverse

[Sal Rodriguez 🕷 @sal19]

Not sure what comes next, but I’m open to a variety of opportunities in a number of locations. Feel free to reach out.

[Sal Rodriguez 🕷 @sal19]

Hi world, I was among those let go from CNBC this week, bringing to end my second stint at the consumer news and business channel and my first as an editor.

[Sal Rodriguez 🕷 @sal19]

I’m sad to leave all my wonderful friends and colleagues, but I’m so grateful I got to work with them again, learn so much and publish some incredible pieces that we’ll always be proud of.

[Techmeme @Techmeme]

Waymo opens its robotaxi service to "select riders" in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Orlando, expanding its operations to 10 US cities (@lorakolodny / CNBC)

https://t.co/yxQdHsAwfC

https://t.co/sdWSeuIGUo

📥 Send tips! https://t.co/wlNZvXtJTU

[Sal Rodriguez 🕷 @sal19]

Salesforce employees call on CEO Benioff to cancel ICE ‘opportunities’ https://t.co/cTxlACuZc6 By @jordannovet

[Sal Rodriguez 🕷 @sal19]

Alphabet calls out new AI-related risks in latest financial filings https://t.co/ldAZcizMwH by @jenn_elias

[Techmeme @Techmeme]

Databricks raised $5B in funding and $2B in new debt at a $134B valuation and says its annualized revenue exceeded $5.4B for the January quarter, up 65% YoY (@jordannovet / CNBC)

https://t.co/chw5C9H2gY

https://t.co/rDprzbSrMy

📥 Send tips! https://t.co/wlNZvXtJTU