Why smartglasses will never have a smartwatch moment, no matter what Apple says

A New Republic report citing Public Citizen says 14 donors to President Donald Trump’s planned 90,000-square-foot ballroom have received over $50 billion in federal contracts in the past six months. The report also says 21 corporate donors are public and 6 more were identified, with many tied to federal litigation. The Justice Department sought to appeal a court order halting construction, arguing plaintiffs lack standing.

SpaceX, owned by Elon Musk and private investors, will launch an IPO with shares starting trading on Nasdaq on 12 June. SpaceX plans to sell at least 550 million shares at $135 each, aiming to raise at least $75bn and value the company around $1.75tn. Musk will retain over 80% of voting power, and investors face market-price volatility and feasibility risks around its plans.

Apple will permanently close its North County Mall retail store in Escondido, California on June 20, citing deteriorating mall conditions and other retailers’ departures, and will exit three mall stores nationwide that day. Apple says staff at California and Connecticut sites won’t be laid off and will move to nearby stores; the Maryland store closure may affect 78–90 employees. Apple reported about $146.6B cash and marketable securities in its latest filing.

Supply chain analysts in Asia report Apple has doubled its MacBook Neo shipping target to 10 million units to meet stronger-than-expected demand. The report says Apple is adding logistics capacity and securing more silicon wafer supply to avoid shortages. Suppliers making alloy chassis, low-power display panels, and unified memory modules have reportedly adjusted delivery schedules to support the higher volume.

REalloys signed a definitive 15-year offtake deal with Critical Metals for 15% of Phase 1 production from the Tanbreez heavy rare earth project in southern Greenland. Critical Metals says Phase 1 capacity could reach 15,000 metric tons of rare earth concentrate annually, with priority rights for dysprosium- and terbium-rich streams. Greenland approved Critical Metals’ 92.5% ownership earlier this year.

Poke, a startup that lets users interact with AI agents via text, has been approved as the first AI agent to run on Apple’s Messages for Business platform, according to TechCrunch. Launched in March, it has relayed about 100 million messages and works via SMS, Telegram, and some WhatsApp markets; iMessage support is now added. Apple required live-support capability and clear AI identification; Poke says Apple charges per user.