Global Pulse

标签： North America

北美洲

  • How Trump’s White House ballroom plan has doubled in size and cost over a year

    How Trump’s White House ballroom plan has doubled in size and cost over a year

    One year after former (and current) U.S. President Donald Trump first unveiled plans for a new White House state ballroom, the proposal has ballooned far beyond its original scope, with a projected price tag that has doubled to $400 million and new additions that include high-security features ranging from a rooftop drone port to an underground three-story hospital and top-secret military facilities. The expansion of the project comes as congressional Republicans have pushed for hundreds of millions in taxpayer funding for the complex, at a moment when American households are already grappling with soaring living costs tied to the ongoing Iran conflict – even as Trump has repeatedly insisted the entire build would come at no cost to public coffers.

    The proposal’s evolution, tracked by BBC Verify through public statements and social media posts from the president, offers a rare window into how one of the most sweeping changes to the White House complex in decades has shifted dramatically over 12 months. It all began on June 6 last year, when Trump shared the news on his social media platform Truth Social, saying he had already inspected the proposed construction site. He framed the project as a lighthearted side endeavor amid his work on global economic policy and international relations with major powers including China and Russia, promising the ballroom would be built quickly and designed to complement the White House’s existing historic aesthetic.

    A month later, the Trump administration formally revealed the full initial plan: a new 90,000-square-foot state ballroom would replace the aging, extensively modified East Wing, with architectural design matching the historic main residence. The new space would hold 650 guests, a major jump from the 200-person capacity of the main residence’s East Room, which has served as the White House’s primary venue for official state events and ceremonies for decades. In recent years, large state gatherings – including 2022’s state dinner for French President Emmanuel Macron, which hosted more than 300 guests – have been forced to move to temporary tents erected on the South Lawn, a gap the new ballroom is intended to fill. The administration initially announced construction would begin by the end of that year and be completed well before the end of Trump’s second term in January 2029, with Trump emphasizing the build would not damage or interfere with the existing White House structure.

    By October, when Trump announced groundbreaking on the site, plans shifted: the 120-year-old East Wing, which previously housed dozens of offices including the First Lady’s workspace, would be fully demolished and modernized as part of the project. Within just a few days, the entire East Wing and its connecting hallway to the main White House building had been cleared by construction crews.

    It is after groundbreaking that the project’s scope expanded dramatically. In an update shared to Truth Social this past April, Trump revealed the new design would add a suite of security-focused features: bomb-resistant blast shelters, a cutting-edge underground medical facility, classified military command space, and a dedicated rooftop landing pad for drones. Recent satellite imagery confirms extensive excavation work for the three-story underground section of the complex.

    Trump’s public framing of the project has also shifted, with growing emphasis on its national security purpose. Where he made no mention of security in 2025’s posts, he has referenced the project’s security benefits at least 10 times on Truth Social in 2026 alone, a ramp-up that followed an assassination attempt at the April White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. Speaking at a White House press conference immediately after the shooting, Trump argued the new facility was a critical demand from both the U.S. Secret Service and the military, noting it would be drone-proof and fitted with bulletproof glass. He has since claimed the ballroom’s roof will be resistant to missile attacks, and shared an AI-generated rendering of the rooftop “DronePort” that he says will protect Washington D.C. for decades to come.

    When contacted by BBC Verify to ask about the shifting scope and purpose of the project, the White House has denied any changes to the original plan.

    Funding for the project has emerged as a core point of controversy. Trump has repeatedly stated the ballroom, which was originally estimated to cost $200 million, would require zero taxpayer dollars, claiming the entire cost would be covered by his personal funds and private donations. But this May, congressional Republicans requested $1 billion in a broad security spending package that reportedly earmarked $220 million specifically for security works tied to the new ballroom complex. That initial request was rejected by Congress and withdrawn, but Republicans have since introduced a separate $400 million security bill linked to the project, co-sponsored by Senator Lindsey Graham, who says the funding would be raised through new fees on imported goods and international travelers entering the U.S.

    The project’s direct construction cost estimate has also doubled over the past year, rising from the original $200 million to the current $400 million, according to BBC Verify’s analysis of 35 Trump Truth Social posts about the project published over the past year. Trump has defended the cost increase, telling reporters during a May visit to the construction site that the project remains on schedule and on budget, and the only change is that the project size was doubled at the request of the U.S. military. The Department of Defense did not respond to BBC Verify’s request for comment on what specific changes it requested. When asked about the push for taxpayer funding tied to the project, Trump argued the requested funds are for general White House grounds security upgrades, not the ballroom itself.

    When construction began last October, the administration released an initial list of private donors that included major tech firms such as Amazon, Google and Meta, as well as multiple billionaire investors, but no updated details on donor contributions have been released since. The White House also declined to provide BBC Verify with a breakdown of how much of the final cost will be covered by Trump personally, by private donors, and by public funds, saying it had no additional information to share.

    Beyond funding, legal questions have been raised about whether the administration has the authority to demolish and rebuild the portion of the White House complex. The U.S. National Trust for Historic Preservation has filed a lawsuit to halt construction, arguing that no sitting president has the legal right to demolish sections of the historic White House without formal public or regulatory review. The Trump administration has pushed back by pointing to past renovation projects carried out by previous presidential administrations, but historians note that the current proposal is the most extensive change to the White House in more than 70 years. Political historian Dr. Matthew Dallek of George Washington University notes that President Harry Truman’s sweeping mid-20th century White House renovation faced little opposition because it was prompted by severe structural decay that threatened the entire building – a justification that does not apply to the current project.

    A federal judge initially issued a temporary order blocking construction after the National Trust’s lawsuit, but the Trump administration appealed the ruling, and construction was allowed to resume pending a full hearing scheduled for this June.

  • Here’s why election results in the second largest US city are so slow

    Here’s why election results in the second largest US city are so slow

    As vote counting continues across California’s 2026 statewide primary elections, the days-long wait for final results has sparked familiar political friction, with former President Donald Trump amplifying baseless claims of electoral fraud to criticize the state’s widely used vote-by-mail system. Here is a breakdown of why results are taking longer to finalize, and what the current state of key races looks like.

    California, the most populous U.S. state, has more than 23 million registered voters, and state law automatically sends a mail-in ballot to every registered voter ahead of any election. Currently, around 80% of all ballots cast in the state are submitted by mail, requiring a multi-step, labor-intensive process to sort, verify signature matches against official voter records, and count each ballot. Under state rules, any mail-in ballot postmarked by Election Day (June 2, 2026, this year) and received by county election offices no later than June 9 is considered valid, regardless of when it arrives. Additionally, provisional ballots and ballots with mismatched or missing signatures require extra follow-up: voters are notified of issues and given until two days before certification to correct any errors.

    State law grants California’s 58 counties up to 30 days after Election Day to complete counting, with final results required to be submitted to Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber by July 3, and official certification scheduled for July 10. Most county results are expected to be finalized by June 15, nearly two weeks after polls closed.

    Weber emphasized in an election night statement that the delayed outcome is entirely standard, urging Californians to remain patient. “California elections officials prioritise the right to vote and election security over rushing the vote count. We have a process that by law ensures both voting rights and the integrity of elections,” she said.

    But Trump has seized on the delay to spread unsubstantiated claims of widespread Democratic electoral misconduct, repeating false assertions he first promoted after his 2020 loss to Joe Biden. “Democrats are stealing” the California election, Trump claimed Thursday, repeating his longstanding criticism of universal mail-in voting. He has also pushed baseless claims that federal prosecutors in Los Angeles are investigating voter fraud; California Governor Gavin Newsom’s office refuted the claim on social media as another lie about the state, while a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles declined to comment on Trump’s remarks to the BBC. Trump has also called on Congress to pass his proposed Save America Act, which would mandate proof of U.S. citizenship for voter registration, and previously issued an executive order to restrict mail-in voting by creating federal voter eligibility lists, a move experts and critics say exceeds presidential authority.

    Newsom’s office has pushed back against the misinformation, reposting an official explainer of the vote counting process on social media, noting that state officials also wish results could be finalized more quickly.

    As of Thursday, the Associated Press reports that roughly 56% of all ballots have been counted. In the high-profile race for California governor, where Newsom is term-limited and dozens of candidates are vying to advance to the November general election, early partial results show Republican Steve Hilton, a British-American former television host, holding a narrow lead with 27.6% of the vote (1.42 million votes counted). Trailing closely behind are Democratic candidates Xavier Becerra, a former Biden cabinet secretary, with 25.6% (1.32 million votes), and billionaire climate activist Tom Steyer with 19.8% (1.02 million votes). Under California’s jungle primary system, the top two vote-getters advance to the general election in November, regardless of partisan affiliation. Trump publicly congratulated Hilton on his early lead Wednesday on social media. Political analysts stress that Hilton’s lead could shift dramatically as millions of remaining outstanding ballots are counted in the coming days.

    In the Los Angeles mayoral primary, incumbent Mayor Karen Bass has secured a spot in the November runoff, but made history as the first sitting mayor in more than two decades to fail to reach the 50% vote threshold needed to avoid a runoff. As of Thursday’s count, Bass holds 35% of the vote. The race for the second runoff spot remains too close to call: reality TV star Spencer Pratt holds 29.9% of the vote, while Democratic city council member Nithya Raman trails close behind at 22.8%.

    The sheer scale of Los Angeles County contributes heavily to the extended counting timeline: the county is home to nearly 6 million registered voters, a larger voting population than 41 U.S. states, and the city of Los Angeles itself is the second most populous city in the country. Despite the delays, election officials note that the slower timeline is a deliberate feature of California’s election system, designed to protect ballot access and ensure every valid vote is counted.

  • ‘It looks black’ – Americans react to Reflecting Pool’s completed paint job

    ‘It looks black’ – Americans react to Reflecting Pool’s completed paint job

    After multiple weeks of intensive renovation work at one of Washington D.C.’s most iconic public landmarks, crews have started the process of refilling the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool — a project that has already sparked heated discussion among visitors over its freshly applied coating. The material used to line the basin is a specially selected shade officially labeled “American flag blue”, but many casual observers stepping up to the edge of the partially filled pool are saying the finished surface reads as deep black to the naked eye.

    The Reflecting Pool, which draws millions of domestic and international tourists every year, has long been recognized for its mirror-like views of the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument, a feature that has made it one of the most photographed sites in the U.S. capital. This latest renovation was aimed at addressing long-standing issues with leaking and erosion that have plagued the structure for decades, with the new coating intended to improve durability and reduce maintenance needs moving forward.

    As water levels continue to rise slowly across the 1,668-foot-long basin, visitors have been sharing mixed reactions on social media and in on-the-record interviews, with many noting that the darker hue fundamentally changes the visual character of the landmark that generations have known. Others have pushed back, arguing that the true color will become more apparent once the pool is completely filled, and that the darker base will actually improve the clarity of the iconic reflections the site is famous for. Project managers have not yet issued an official comment addressing the public’s observations about the coating’s perceived color discrepancy.

  • Why is this teen fashion brand closing its fitting rooms?

    Why is this teen fashion brand closing its fitting rooms?

    One-size-fits-all fashion retailer Brandy Melville has moved to permanently close all in-store changing rooms across its entire U.S. footprint, according to confirmations from multiple store employees, a decision that has already ignited fierce pushback from the brand’s core customer base of young women.

    The Italian-founded brand, which was launched in 1980 and primarily targets teenage consumers, has long been mired in controversy over its narrow sizing model that only caters to smaller body types, with critics arguing it promotes harmful, unrealistic body image standards. Most recently, a 2024 HBO documentary titled *Brandy Hellville & The Cult of Fast Fashion* leveled further damning accusations against the company, claiming it fosters environments that normalize eating disorders and sexualizes its young female staff. Brandy Melville has never issued a public response to either the documentary’s claims or longstanding criticisms of its exclusive sizing strategy.

    The BBC reached out to Brandy Melville for official comment on the changing room closure, but the company has not released any formal statement explaining the decision. However, staff at Brandy Melville locations in three major U.S. cities — New York City, Boston and Austin — confirmed to reporters that they received directives this week to shutter the fitting rooms permanently.

    Employees at multiple outlets have cited repeated vandalism tied to a viral TikTok trend as the driving force behind the change. Multiple viral videos circulated on the platform earlier this year showed shoppers using chewing gum to wedge changing room curtains open, after widespread complaints that the curtains would not stay fully closed on their own. One Austin-based employee explained that staff have dealt with ongoing issues of gum being caked onto changing room curtains and walls, a messy and time-consuming problem to resolve. One staff member even posted a TikTok of her scraping dried gum off changing room walls during a shift, writing “If you have ever stuck ur gum onto these walls, we have beef.” Another employee shared footage of the fitting room disassembly process at their U.S. location earlier this week.

    For the brand’s loyal shoppers, many of whom rely on Brandy Melville for affordable, casual cotton basics, the loss of fitting rooms has only deepened longstanding frustrations with the brand’s sizing model. The news went viral across TikTok and other social platforms, with shoppers expressing anger and confusion over the change. One shopper called the announcement “devastating news” in a social post, while another asked, “How am I supposed to know if it’s cute on me???”

    Many shoppers noted that the lack of fitting space is an even bigger problem given the brand’s one-size policy for most styles. “Stuff fits weird sometimes. I would just always try stuff on to see what I wanted, but now I can’t,” one woman explained in a TikTok. Another shopper pointed out the inevitable downstream impact, saying “It’s literally one size per style and you can’t try it on. There’s gonna be like a trillion returns.” The change has left many frequent customers feeling more alienated from the brand than ever before, adding another chapter to the retailer’s decades-long history of dividing public opinion.

  • John Bolton expected to plead guilty in classified documents case, sources confirm

    John Bolton expected to plead guilty in classified documents case, sources confirm

    In a major development in a high-stakes federal national security case, John Bolton — the former White House National Security Advisor under ex-President Donald Trump who later became one of Trump’s most high-profile critics — has finalized an agreement to plead guilty to one count of improper retention of classified defense information, according to two anonymous sources with direct knowledge of the unannounced deal.

    The case against Bolton dates back to October 2023, when federal prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland brought an 18-count indictment against him, alleging that he mishandled hundreds of sensitive documents, including dozens marked Top Secret, during and after his tenure in the Trump administration from 2018 to 2019. Prosecutors argued at the time that Bolton’s lax handling of the classified material put American national security at tangible risk. Among the compromised documents were what the indictment described as “diary-like” personal notes Bolton kept during his time in the White House, which included sensitive national defense information classified at the highest levels. Bolton had entered an initial plea of not guilty following his indictment.

    Under the terms of the newly reached deal, Bolton will change his plea to guilty on a single count connected to those diary notes, pay a $2.25 million financial penalty, and avoid any recommendation for prison time from prosecutors. The formal plea is scheduled to be entered during a re-arraignment hearing set for June 26. One source close to the negotiations confirmed that the agreement formally recommends no custodial sentence, though the final sentencing decision will rest with the presiding judge at a future hearing. The charge Bolton is admitting to carries a statutory maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. The deal still requires formal judicial approval to take effect.

    When contacted by the BBC, a spokesperson for the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office confirmed the scheduled hearing date but declined to offer any additional comment on the plea agreement. The U.S. Department of Justice did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the deal.

    Bolton’s indictment last year came as part of a string of high-profile criminal prosecutions targeting prominent critics of Trump, a sequence that sparked widespread political scrutiny. Since leaving the Trump administration in 2019, Bolton has been an unflinching critic of the former president, publishing a tell-all book that sharply criticized Trump’s leadership and policies, and Trump himself has publicly stated that Bolton deserves jail time.

    However, legal analysts and former federal prosecutors interviewed by the BBC emphasize that Bolton’s case differs meaningfully from other prosecutions of Trump critics, due to the strength of the evidence compiled by investigators. Sources close to Bolton explain his decision to accept the plea deal as a deliberate choice to accept responsibility for his actions. “The ambassador has admitted to what he has done,” one source said. The source added that Bolton also recognized that proceeding to trial would require the release of additional classified information as part of his defense strategy, and he chose to accept the plea deal to prevent further harm to U.S. national security. “Unlike others, he’s stood up and said he takes responsibility,” the source added.

  • Five takeaways from Canada’s new AI strategy

    Five takeaways from Canada’s new AI strategy

    Against a backdrop of rising global public anxiety over artificial intelligence’s risks to privacy, personal safety and employment stability, the Canadian government has launched a long-awaited 10-year national AI strategy that charts a clear path for the country’s adoption and governance of the transformative technology. Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the comprehensive C$2 billion ($1.4 billion) plan on Thursday, framing AI’s proliferation as an irreversible shift that is already reshaping core parts of daily life from work and education to social connection.

    One of the strategy’s central pillars is safeguarding Canadian digital and economic sovereignty, a longstanding policy priority that has gained renewed urgency amid shifting cross-border dynamics with the United States. The plan explicitly identifies reducing reliance on foreign AI infrastructure and service providers as a key goal, highlighting that Canadian companies currently store large volumes of sensitive data in overseas jurisdictions, and the federal government already depends on some critical digital infrastructure owned by foreign entities. Carney warned that bad actors could weaponize AI against Canadian interests, prompting two major infrastructure commitments: the development of a secure, world-class public supercomputer accessible to domestic researchers and businesses, and targeted support for building large-scale domestic AI data centers, with a target of drastically expanding national computing capacity by 2030.

    Addressing a long-standing structural challenge for the Canadian AI ecosystem, the strategy prioritizes retaining homegrown AI talent and attracting global skilled workers to the country. For decades, Canada’s close proximity to the massive U.S. tech market has led to a steady brain drain of top Canadian AI innovators, a reality the strategy openly acknowledges as an “uncomfortable truth.” High-profile examples of this trend include Geoffrey Hinton, the Canadian Nobel Prize-winning researcher known as the “Godfather of AI,” who sold his startup to Google and spent years working for the U.S. tech giant, and Ilya Sutskever, another Canadian AI pioneer who co-founded industry leader OpenAI. To reverse this outflow, the plan will fund new AI research fellowships and expand the number of specialized AI research chairs at Canadian universities. It also offers accelerated immigration pathways and permanent residency for top AI talent from around the world seeking to relocate to Canada. Additionally, the government is committing C$500 million in targeted investment to domestic AI firms, which will allow the federal government to take equity stakes in emerging Canadian AI companies to support their growth.

    The strategy also aims to dramatically scale AI adoption across all Canadian economic sectors over the next decade. Government data shows only 12% of Canadian businesses integrated AI tools into their operations between mid-2024 and mid-2025, and the new plan sets an ambitious target of lifting that adoption rate to 60% by 2034. To reach this goal, the government is offering C$500 million in financing to help small and medium-sized businesses integrate AI into their workflows, alongside C$50 million in targeted support for content creators to adopt AI tools on their own terms.

    A major focus of the adoption push is upgrading Canada’s struggling public healthcare system, which has long grappled with prolonged emergency room wait times and widespread shortages of primary care providers. Carney was joined by healthcare workers from a Toronto hospital for the strategy’s announcement, and the plan earmarks C$200 million to improve health outcomes using AI, with a core goal of reducing the heavy administrative burden that pulls clinicians away from direct patient care. Carney noted that nearly three-quarters of European Union member states already use AI-assisted diagnostics to analyze medical imaging and detect disease, positioning Canada as lagging behind on this front.

    To address widespread public mistrust of AI, the strategy prioritizes expanding national AI literacy. Recent government polling shows deep division among Canadians over AI’s impact: just 34% view the technology as beneficial to society, while 36% see it as harmful, and half of all respondents regard AI as an existential threat to humanity. A global study from KPMG and the University of Melbourne also ranked Canada low among developed nations in AI literacy, training and public trust. In response, the government is launching a national AI literacy initiative that will provide free entry-level AI training to all Canadians, delivered in part through partnerships with the country’s network of public libraries.

    On the regulatory front, the government has pledged to introduce new AI legislation to protect consumer privacy and child safety, as well as updates to modernize Canada’s existing online safety rules to account for AI-specific risks. However, the strategy provides no specific details on the content or timeline of these proposed regulatory changes. Calls for new AI safety rules have intensified in Canada this year, after it was revealed that the suspect in a February mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, used ChatGPT to discuss gun violence months before the attack. OpenAI acknowledged it was aware of the concerning activity but failed to alert law enforcement, prompting a public apology from CEO Sam Altman and a meeting between OpenAI executives and Canadian officials, who threatened new regulation if the company did not update its safety protocols. Carney emphasized that Canada must be transparent about AI’s risks, including the spread of deepfakes, unregulated unsafe chatbots, and AI-generated disinformation.

    The lack of specific details on safety regulation has drawn criticism from Canada’s Conservative opposition. Conservative MP Melissa Lantsman told reporters that the safety and security safeguards promised by the government are nowhere to be found in the strategy document, with no concrete details on how new rules will work or when they will take effect. While the strategy projects that scaling AI across sectors will create 250,000 new jobs over the next decade, it notably does not include any estimate of how many existing roles could be displaced by rapid AI adoption, leaving a key question about the technology’s labor market impact unaddressed.

  • Marilyn Monroe auction features star’s make-up and gowns on 100th birthday

    Marilyn Monroe auction features star’s make-up and gowns on 100th birthday

    To mark 100 years since the birth of one of Hollywood’s most iconic and enduring stars, special auctions featuring a vast collection of Marilyn Monroe’s personal belongings have drawn massive public interest, with thousands of dollars already placed in active bids just days into the sales. The celebrations, which are being held across the United States to honor the legendary actress and model’s 1 June 1926 birth, are led by Julien’s Auctions, which has put 185 distinct pieces of Monroe memorabilia from her personal estate and the collections of her close connections on the block.

    Among the standout lots up for sale are never-before-seen candid photos and slides that have been kept out of public view for decades, plus a range of clothing, accessories, and personal care items that Monroe owned and used regularly. The highest-value item in the Julien’s sale is a 1950s gold-toned cylindrical evening minaudiere purse that still holds the original small items Monroe carried inside it: a tiny hair comb, a tube of lipstick, eight Philip Morris cigarettes, and 1940s dimes. The purse was originally estimated to draw a $100,000 price, and by Thursday morning of the auction’s opening, the top bid had already reached $70,000.

    More intimate items have also sparked fierce bidding competition. A 1950s brassiere owned by Monroe, inherited by her long-time acting coach Paula Strasberg, has yellowed with age but still garnered 15 separate bids, topping out at $7,000 far exceeding its initial $1,000 valuation. Monroe’s original makeup products, including lipsticks, blush, and an eyeliner pencil, have also drawn strong attention in large part from TikTok creators who frequently create content recreating Monroe’s signature timeless look.

    Other notable lots include the olive-green painted wood front gates from the only home Monroe ever owned, located in the upscale Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles that she purchased shortly before her death. Bids for the gates, which Monroe bought for just $100 in 1962, had already reached $15,000 early in the auction. Dozens of the never-before-published candid photos and slides, signed by the legendary photographers who captured them including Allan Grant and Milton Greene, have also received dozens of competitive bids from collectors around the world.

    Julien’s Auctions notes that the entire collection is made up of pieces that were personally owned, used, and kept by Monroe, including a number of items recovered from her final Brentwood residence. A separate parallel auction run by Heritage Auctions is also offering additional Monroe items, including a Christian Dior skirt the star wore on her honeymoon and a personal letter from her then-husband, celebrated playwright Arthur Miller.

    Monroe, born Norma Jeane Mortenson, had a difficult childhood growing up in a series of foster homes before she was discovered by a U.S. Army photographer while working in an aircraft factory during World War II. She rose to global fame as a defining 1950s sex symbol and went on to star in a string of critically and commercially successful hit films including *Niagara* and *Some Like It Hot*, before her tragic death at age 36 from an overdose in 1962. Nearly 65 years after her passing, she remains one of the most recognizable and beloved cultural figures in the world, and the centennial of her birth has drawn widespread celebration across the country.

    Earlier this week, more than 1,000 fans gathered in Palm Springs, California—one of Monroe’s favorite vacation getaways—for a public celebration. Most attendees dressed in replicas of her iconic white pleated dress from *The Seven Year Itch*, posing for photos alongside a famous public statue of Monroe wearing the same legendary outfit.

  • Marilyn Monroe’s jewellery, dresses and letters auctioned for her 100th birthday

    Marilyn Monroe’s jewellery, dresses and letters auctioned for her 100th birthday

    To mark what would have been the 100th birthday of one of Hollywood’s most enduring and iconic stars, hundreds of Marilyn Monroe’s personal belongings — ranging from her fine jewelry and beloved everyday dresses to intimate handwritten letters — have been put up for public auction at a venue in California.

    Monroe, who transformed from a troubled young model into a global cultural phenomenon in the mid-20th century, still captivates public imagination decades after her tragic death in 1962. This special centenary auction has drawn intense interest from entertainment memorabilia collectors, Marilyn superfans, and investment buyers from across the globe, all eager to own a one-of-a-kind piece of the star’s personal history.

    Each item up for bid carries unique glimpses into Monroe’s private life, far from the glitz and glamour of her on-screen persona. The jewelry collection includes pieces she wore regularly off-camera, while the wardrobe lots feature casual dresses and undergarments that offer a rare unpolished look at the star. Her personal letters, written in her own hand, contain unfiltered thoughts about her career, relationships, and inner struggles — content that has not been widely shared publicly before the auction.

    Auction organizers note that the event is timed intentionally to coincide with the 100th anniversary of Monroe’s birth, turning the sale into a celebration of her lasting legacy as a cultural figure. Unlike some celebrity auctions that focus only on high-profile red carpet items, this sale prioritizes personal possessions that highlight the human side of the world-famous star, attracting a new generation of fans who continue to find resonance in Monroe’s story decades after her passing.

  • Can I buy shares in Elon Musk’s SpaceX?

    Can I buy shares in Elon Musk’s SpaceX?

    Next month will mark a watershed moment for private space exploration: Elon Musk’s Texas-based SpaceX will open its doors to public investors when it lists on the Nasdaq stock exchange via one of the most highly anticipated initial public offerings in Wall Street history.

    Set to be the largest public share sale ever conducted, the June 12 IPO is projected to raise at least $75 billion in fresh capital and catapult SpaceX straight into the ranks of the 10 largest publicly traded companies in the United States. For casual and institutional investors alike, the offering presents a high-stakes opportunity to buy into a company redefining space technology — but it also carries extraordinary uncertainty tied to its founder’s outsize, long-term ambitions.

    Until now, SpaceX has remained privately held, counting Musk and a small group of private backers as its sole owners. When trading opens, more than 550 million new shares will be available to investors at an offering price of $135 per share, valuing the company at roughly $1.75 trillion. That valuation places SpaceX above leading AI startups Anthropic and OpenAI, but below the sector’s biggest incumbents including Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon.

    While individual investors based in the UK and elsewhere will be able to purchase shares via regulated investment platforms and brokers, even indirect investors may have exposure: many pension funds, savings accounts and index-tracking funds automatically add shares of the largest listed companies to their portfolios, meaning everyday savers could see an impact from SpaceX’s performance regardless of whether they buy shares directly.

    SpaceX’s business lines already extend far beyond its original core of rocket launches and space exploration. The company currently operates the Starlink satellite internet network, holds a stake in Musk’s social media platform X, and developed the AI chatbot Grok. It is legally separate from Musk’s better-known electric vehicle venture Tesla, though industry speculation suggests a potential merger between the two firms could come as early as 2026.

    Musk has outlined that fresh capital from the IPO will go toward expanding existing operations while funding a slate of far-reaching, sci-fi-inspired long-term projects: asteroid mining, establishing a permanent human colony on Mars, and building AI data centers in orbit. In the company’s offering prospectus, Musk frames these projects as a existential necessity, arguing that humanity must move beyond Earth to avoid “the same fate as dinosaurs” and build a multiplanetary “age of abundance” to preserve the “light of consciousness.”

    Not surprisingly, these sweeping ambitions have drawn heavy skepticism from market analysts. Critics point out that SpaceX posted $18.6 billion in revenue in 2024, but recorded a net loss of $4.9 billion over the same period. The company’s own IPO prospectus explicitly acknowledges its “history of net losses” and warns that it “may not achieve profitability in the future.”

    The global AI race, a core focus of SpaceX’s future plans, is already notoriously capital-intensive and marked by unpredictable market shifts, leading to widespread concern that the company’s $1.75 trillion valuation is inflated, creating a bubble that could burst once public trading begins. Even veteran Wall Street analysts admit there is no reliable way to forecast whether share prices will rise or fall after listing, as the valuation depends almost entirely on the success of unproven long-term projects.

    Opinions among industry experts are deeply divided. Ruth Foxe-Blader, a partner at U.S. venture capital firm Citrine Venture Partners, notes that SpaceX’s diverse portfolio of ongoing and planned projects gives it multiple pathways to growth, creating strong selling points for potential investors. But Michael Hewson, a market analyst at iForez, argues that the company’s valuation “defies belief” and that buying SpaceX shares amounts to a pure bet on Musk’s ability to deliver on his most extreme promises.

    This IPO is the first of three massive AI-related public listings expected in 2025, with Anthropic and OpenAI set to follow with their own offerings. All three mega-listings share a common trait: they are attracting billions in investor capital despite no guarantee of sustained future profits.

    One critical note for potential investors: even after the public share sale, Musk will retain more than 80% of the company’s voting power, only a tiny drop from his current control. That means he will retain full authority over all major company decisions, including leadership appointments and long-term strategic direction. The arrangement has drawn criticism in light of Musk’s well-documented erratic management style and competing responsibilities across his multiple business ventures. Yet industry observers note that Musk’s reputation as a innovator who has repeatedly defied early skeptics is, paradoxically, one of the biggest drivers of investor interest in the offering.

    For early backers, the IPO could reshape Musk’s net worth: if the offering performs as expected, he will become the world’s first trillionaire. For investors, the choice boils down to a simple question: is Musk’s vision of a multiplanetary future a solid investment, or a high-risk gamble that may never pay off?

  • California tech boss accused of smuggling equipment to Iran

    California tech boss accused of smuggling equipment to Iran

    In a pre-dawn raid at his Southern California luxury estate, federal law enforcement officials have taken into custody a 63-year-old dual US-Iranian citizen accused of running a more than decade-long sanctions evasion scheme that funneled sensitive American-made computer technology to Iran, including to the country’s nuclear and military institutions.

    Jamshid Ghomi, the owner and chief executive of Tehran-based technology firm Faraz Pardaz Rayaneh Co. Ltd (FPR), was arrested Wednesday morning at his Newport Coast home in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, according to announcements from US federal prosecutors. Court documents outline that the alleged illegal operation dates all the way back to 2011, when Ghomi first began organizing illicit shipments of restricted US-origin goods to Iranian buyers.

    Prosecutors allege that Ghomi built a complex smuggling network that moved hundreds of tons of specialized networking, cybersecurity, and encryption equipment out of the United States, routing the shipments through the United Arab Emirates to conceal their final destination in Iran. Between 2014 and 2018 alone, the scheme moved more than 250 metric tons of restricted equipment across borders, court records state.

    According to the US Department of Justice charging document, FPR served a broad customer base of hundreds of private and public sector entities across Iran. While most clients were civilian entities, prosecutors note that a meaningful share of the company’s business served high-sensitivity end users linked to the Iranian government’s nuclear program and military establishment – violating long-standing US sanctions that ban nearly all commercial trade with Iran.

    To hide the profits from his illicit activities, Ghomi allegedly ran an international money laundering network that moved more than $15 million in proceeds through intermediaries in the British Virgin Islands, Hong Kong, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates before sending the funds to his personal accounts in California, prosecutors claim. The illegal earnings were misrepresented to US tax regulators as foreign inheritance, according to the charges.

    Prosecutors allege that a large portion of these illegal profits went toward building Ghomi’s Orange County luxury compound. Records show he purchased the land for the property in 2010 for roughly $4.5 million, before pouring an additional $10.5 million into constructing the current $35 million mansion, which federal officials have announced they will seek to seize as part of the criminal case.

    Ghomi faces charges of conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the federal statute that enforces US economic sanctions. He has not yet made any public statement responding to the allegations, and entered no plea during his initial court appearance Wednesday. His formal arraignment is scheduled for July 13, and a conviction on the charges could carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.

    “Ghomi is accused of aiding our declared enemies by selling US-origin computer networking parts to Iran and earning millions of dollars in violation of US sanction laws,” said Assistant Attorney Bill Essayli in a statement following the arrest. “Our nation’s laws prohibiting doing business with one of the world’s largest state sponsors of terrorism must be enforced and obeyed. We will hold him accountable by seeking an appropriate prison sentence and by seizing his assets, including his $35 million Newport Beach mansion.”

    The arrest comes amid ongoing tense relations between the US and Iran, with long-running disputes over Iran’s nuclear program at the center of the standoff. The Trump administration has repeatedly accused Iran of pursuing a nuclear weapon under the cover of a civilian atomic energy program, an allegation Iranian officials have continuously denied. When questioned by reporters on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump confirmed that diplomatic negotiations between the two countries are ongoing, saying talks “are going on continuously,” though no breakthroughs have been announced to end the years-long conflict.