SpaceX is set for the largest stock market debut ever. The U.S. men’s national team, dubbed the “Golden Generation,” kicks off its World Cup campaign today. And Trump names his nominee for director of national intelligence.
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Here’s what to know today.
SpaceX is set to begin trading on the stock market today at a valuation of $1.77 trillion – the largest ever initial public offering.
The IPO, which could be a referendum on Elon Musk, is also going to be the latest major test of red-hot demand for the artificial intelligence boom. Yesterday, the company locked in its final IPO price of $135, making it the largest stock debut ever.
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What does SpaceX’s stock market debut mean for you?
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The implications of this IPO stretch far beyond the opening trade.
For years, SpaceX was largely accessible only to venture capital firms, institutional investors and a small group of private shareholders. Now, ordinary investors will have their first chance to buy into the company — whether they realize it or not. Recent changes made by major stock exchanges mean SpaceX could be added to passive index funds almost immediately.
In addition, buying the stock also means investing by proxy in Musk, the company’s controlling shareholder. He’s already the world’s richest person but is poised to become the world’s first trillionaire when the company goes public. To put that into perspective, it would take the average U.S. household nearly 12 million years to accumulate that much wealth.
Still can’t wrap your head around how much 1,000,000,000,000 really is? These interactive graphics will help you visualize it.
A senior portfolio manager said investors should think of SpaceX not just as a rocket company, but as a combination of its launch business, Starlink satellite internet network and artificial intelligence ambitions. But some believe the company’s ambition to go public at $1.7 trillion is too much, as it has yet to generate profit and produced roughly $19 billion in revenue last year.
More on the impact of SpaceX’s IPO.
Related coverage:
- For subscribers: SpaceX’s political action committee has shifted increasingly to the right, funneling contributions heavily toward Republicans before midterm elections.
Christian Pulisic and ‘The Golden Generation’ start their World Cup journey
When the U.S. men’s national team opens its World Cup bid today in Los Angeles, all eyes will be on Christian Pulisic. The 27-year-old star is widely considered the most talented American player of his generation and — rightly or wrongly — tasked with delivering the best result in the country’s history this summer on home soil.
He said he’s not letting the pressure get to him, but that’s easier said than done.
The furthest the U.S. men’s national team has gone in over the last three decades has been the quarterfinals in 2002. This year’s “Golden Generation,” named for its abundance of talented young players, is fueling hopes that the team will go far. Meanwhile, questions around Pulisic’s play and leadership have swirled.
💥 Day 1 recap: Mexico defeated South Africa 2-0 in the first match of the tournament. South Korea defeated Czechia 2-1 in the evening game.
🗓 What to watch today: Canada and Bosnia and Herzegovina play at 3 p.m. ET, and the U.S. and Paraguay will face off at 9 p.m. See the full schedule.
📩 Join the excitement: Sign up for The Sports Desk newsletter for more in-depth World Cup coverage.
Trump nominates a new director of national intelligence
President Donald Trump announced that he’s nominating Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, for the role of director of national intelligence. This comes after the president faced pushback for his decision to name Bill Pulte to the role in an acting capacity. Pulte, who has no national security background, was tapped to take over from Tulsi Gabbard, who announced last month she would step down.
Trump’s decision has already caused fallout. Democrats all but cut off negotiations to renew a section of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, that grants government powers to spy on foreign nationals living abroad as part of counterterrorism efforts without requiring warrants. This week, the House failed to pass a short-term extension, meaning the funding will lapse for the first time since the law passed in 2008.
The Senate Intelligence Committee scheduled Clayton’s confirmation hearing for next Wednesday. He previously served as chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission during Trump’s first term and was a partner at a top law firm.
More politics news:
- Federal authorities are investigating giant “8647” markings on the National Mall.
- What became of the four House Republicans who pushed for the release of the Epstein files? Trump upended their political careers.
- The UFC event set to be held this weekend at the White House is not the first sporting event to be held there.
U.S. military shoots down Iranian drones as Trump touts a deal
A U.S. official said last night that the U.S. military shot down two Iranian drones that were trying to strike commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. “Traffic flow through the Strait continues,” the official said.
The attack came hours after Trump threatened strikes on Iran, before later saying he had called them off because a deal was expected to be “finalized.” During a rally last night in support of an Alabama Senate candidate, Trump touted a “great deal” with Iran, saying: “There’ll be no nuclear weapons. People will start coming home very soon. It’s pretty much, pretty much completed. We got everything we wanted.”
Iran, however, did not confirm if a deal had been struck and Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told local media that no “final decision” had been reached.
Follow our live coverage here.
El Niño is officially here, and this one could be a doozy
Prepare for intense heat, drought and some flooding — it’s officially El Niño season, the National Weather Service announced.
El Niño is a natural climate pattern that is associated with higher average global temperatures. In the U.S., its influence is most obvious in the winter, creating warmer-than-usual conditions in the Pacific Northwest and unusually wet weather in the South. For some sea life, higher ocean temperatures could be a life-or-death scenario.
This event could be on par with some of the strongest documented in the past, according to models from the NWS.
“There’s a 63% chance that we’re looking at a very strong El Niño during the November to January time period that could rank among the largest El Niño events in the historical record,” NWS meteorologist Ariel Cohen said.
Here’s what happens during El Niños.
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- Ukraine is menacing Russian supply lines with drones, sparking a fuel crisis in Crimea.
- The Supreme Court denied Alabama’s request to execute a death row prisoner with nitrogen gas after lower courts ruled it unconstitutionally cruel.
- British artist David Hockney, an icon of 20th century contemporary art, has died aged 88.
- A Florida woman who was aboard the hantavirus cruise ship said she feels like she’s “being held hostage” by the federal government as state officials push back on CDC quarantine guidance.
- Last year Nebraska saw its second-largest worksite immigration raid at a meatpacking plant. The state is still feeling the effects.
- Opponents of data center constructions effectively blocked or delayed almost $130 billion worth of projects in the first three months of the year.
- This year’s NBA Finals have brought some of the closest scoring games in the series in the past 10 years.
Staff Pick: What some mobile home park residents see after investors buy in
Late last year, after I reported on a Senate investigation into takeovers of mobile home communities by corporations and investment firms, my email exploded with readers sharing their experiences with these buyouts. One resident told me he’d gone for days in the winter without heat, others recounted broken-down appliances, sewage backups, black mold, increasingly acrimonious battles with management and evictions. All contended money was the root cause: reduced services meant higher profits for the new owners.
In an increasingly unaffordable America, mobile home communities are one of the last best options for people unable to pay for a house or higher-cost rental. Some 22 million people live in these parks, and many are seniors on fixed incomes, disabled people and families of limited means. Now they say they have targets on their backs in communities that used to be owned locally but are becoming a big business. As the land these parks sit on becomes more valuable, profit-oriented financial firms are buying in and pushing out existing residents, some told me.
One puzzling aspect of this development: while the Trump administration called for a ban on big investors buying up single family homes, no federal action is underway to stop financial firms from buying mobile home communities. Some states are responding with protections but residents told me they still feel vulnerable and forgotten. — Gretchen Morgenson, senior financial investigative reporter
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