Actor James Handy’s alleged killer found mentally incompetent for prosecution

June 23, 2026 / 6:36 AM EDT / CBS/AP

Los Angeles — A judge found Monday that a man charged with murder in the stabbing of actor James Handy is not mentally competent for criminal court proceedings.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Maria Cavalluzzi ruled that 44-year-old Michael Gledhill cannot understand the case against him and cannot rationally assist his lawyer in his own defense.

Handy, the 81-year-old actor whose credits include “Jumanji” and “Top Gun: Maverick,” was in a relationship with Gledhill’s mother and was found stabbed in the chest and lying unconscious outside her home on June 3, police and prosecutors said. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

“This is not how anyone’s life should end, stabbed in the chest and left dying in the front yard of a home,” L.A. County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said at the time. “The victim, James Handy, deserved to live out his later years enjoying what he had worked so hard for and enjoying it with those he loved and cared about.”

Gledhill was arrested after telling police he was the person they were looking for. Officers had responded to the home after a 911 caller said, “I am the son of man, I just killed the man of sin,” police said.

Gledhill has not entered a plea and has not appeared in court in the case. At his scheduled arraignment on June 5, a judge paused his prosecution and sent the case to a court that specializes in mental health evaluation.

That court ruled promptly after psychiatric evaluations that he was not competent. Cavalluzzi also found at a hearing Monday that Gledhill cannot make proper medication decisions. She signed an order saying he could be involuntarily medicated for one year, citing a psychiatrist’s determination that his mental health could be hugely helped by proper drugs.

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She ordered him to appear in court on July 14 for a hearing on his long-term placement. His case will head to trial if he is later found to be competent.

Emails seeking comment from attorneys for both sides were not immediately answered.

Brian Delate, a longtime friend and fellow actor of Handy, told The Associated Press soon after Handy was killed that Gledhill’s mother had fixed up her garage so her son could live there. Handy had his own home, but spent much of his time there, his friend said. Delate said Handy had mentioned in passing that his girlfriend’s son had mental health problems.

Handy, a ubiquitous character actor, appeared in films and TV shows for decades.

He was known for his role as an exterminator in the 1995 film “Jumanji” and more recently as the bartender Jimmy in the 2022 film “Top Gun: Maverick.” He also appeared in many of TV’s top crime dramas, including “NCIS: Los Angeles,” “The Closer” and “Cold Case.”

美英同步收紧社媒监管 聚焦儿童保护与打击假信息

2026年6月23日 17:02 / 联合早报

英国政府正考虑要求平台在用户信息流和搜索结果中，优先呈现BBC、ITV等公共服务媒体，以及其他可信新闻来源，以应对网络假信息扩散。 （路透社）

（华盛顿／伦敦综合电）美国和英国正分别推动加强对社交媒体平台的监管，重点聚焦儿童保护和打击网络假信息。

美国众议院能源与商业委员会星期一（6月22日）宣布，两党已就一项儿童网络安全法案达成原则共识，拟要求社媒平台为儿童提供更多保护机制，为这项争论多年的议题迈出重要一步。

不过，协议并未纳入要求科技公司对儿童负有“谨慎责任”（duty of care）的条文，意味着平台在设计和营运服务时，无须从法律层面优先考虑儿童安全。委员会没有公布法案细节，仅称将推动立法，让科技巨头负起责任。协议同时允许各州制定更严格的监管措施，为儿童提供更大保障。

由于美国联邦层面多年来未能通过全面监管社媒的法案，各州近年陆续自行立法填补监管空白。根据美国州议会全国会议的数据，2025年至少有20个州通过涉及儿童使用社媒的相关法律。不过，随着外界日益关注社媒对青少年的影响，美科企也面临越来越大的监管压力。

除了美国，英国近期也持续收紧对社媒平台的监管。

英国政府正考虑要求平台在用户信息流和搜索结果中，优先呈现英国广播公司（BBC）、英国独立电视台（ITV）、第四频道等公共服务媒体，以及其他可信新闻来源，以应对网络假信息扩散。

这项构想是英国加强社媒监管的最新举措，也延续了早前禁止16岁以下青少年使用多数社媒平台的政策方向。英国政府认为，提高受监管新闻机构的曝光度，有助于公众获取可靠信息，并在危机时期遏制假信息。但外界预料，干预平台内容排序可能引发科技公司质疑，认为这会影响用户选择，也对其他创作者不公平。

美英同步收紧社媒监管 聚焦儿童保护与打击假信息

2026年6月23日 17:02 / 联合早报

英国政府正考虑要求平台在用户信息流和搜索结果中，优先呈现BBC、ITV等公共服务媒体，以及其他可信新闻来源，以应对网络假信息扩散。 （路透社）

（华盛顿／伦敦综合电）美国和英国正分别推动加强对社交媒体平台的监管，重点聚焦儿童保护和打击网络假信息。

美国众议院能源与商业委员会星期一（6月22日）宣布，两党已就一项儿童网络安全法案达成原则共识，拟要求社媒平台为儿童提供更多保护机制，为这项争论多年的议题迈出重要一步。

不过，协议并未纳入要求科技公司对儿童负有“谨慎责任”（duty of care）的条文，意味着平台在设计和营运服务时，无须从法律层面优先考虑儿童安全。委员会没有公布法案细节，仅称将推动立法，让科技巨头负起责任。协议同时允许各州制定更严格的监管措施，为儿童提供更大保障。

由于美国联邦层面多年来未能通过全面监管社媒的法案，各州近年陆续自行立法填补监管空白。根据美国州议会全国会议的数据，2025年至少有20个州通过涉及儿童使用社媒的相关法律。不过，随着外界日益关注社媒对青少年的影响，美科企也面临越来越大的监管压力。

除了美国，英国近期也持续收紧对社媒平台的监管。

英国禁止16岁以下人群使用社媒 加拿大提新法案 拟禁16岁以下青少年拥社媒账号

英国政府正考虑要求平台在用户信息流和搜索结果中，优先呈现英国广播公司（BBC）、英国独立电视台（ITV）、第四频道等公共服务媒体，以及其他可信新闻来源，以应对网络假信息扩散。

这项构想是英国加强社媒监管的最新举措，也延续了早前禁止16岁以下青少年使用多数社媒平台的政策方向。英国政府认为，提高受监管新闻机构的曝光度，有助于公众获取可靠信息，并在危机时期遏制假信息。但外界预料，干预平台内容排序可能引发科技公司质疑，认为这会影响用户选择，也对其他创作者不公平。

热浪来袭游泳降温 法国约40人溺水身亡

2026年6月23日 17:05 / 联合早报

6月23日，法国西部城市南特遭遇热浪侵袭。 （法新社）

法国总理勒科尔尼星期二（6月23日）说，近日法国已有40人因溺水身亡。法国等欧洲多国正在遭遇强热浪。

路透社报道，法国气象局表示，法国大部分地区已发布严重高温警报，预计星期二气温将达到40摄氏度左右，西部部分地区的气温甚至可能高达43摄氏度。

在法国各地，人们纷纷跳入运河和河流中消暑。法国体育部长法拉利说，她理解人们想要避暑的心情，但警告人们不要在未经许可或危险的区域游泳。

勒科尔尼说：“溺水事件频发，令人痛心。我们刚刚收到的最新数据显示，自6月18日以来，已有40人溺亡，其中大部分是年轻人。”

法国东南部卡庞特拉的一名检察官星期一（22日）说，两名分别为2岁和4岁的儿童被母亲发现昏迷在自家门外的车内，急救人员未能将他们救活。

在巴黎，上班族在酷热难耐的环境中通勤，他们因公寓缺乏隔热设施而彻夜难眠。一些列车被取消，包括巴黎和布鲁塞尔之间的列车。

商界领袖说，经济也因热浪受到冲击。

法国雇主联合会主席马丁在接受BFM电视台采访时说：“法国经济正在缓慢复苏。企业正在尽最大努力落实各项建议，以保护员工。”

除此之外，英国、意大利、瑞士和西班牙也正遭受极端高温的煎熬。

世界气象组织的数据显示，欧洲的升温速度是全球平均水平的两倍多。

热浪来袭游泳降温 法国约40人溺水身亡

2026年6月23日 17:05 / 联合早报

6月23日，法国西部城市南特遭遇热浪侵袭。 （法新社）

法国总理勒科尔尼星期二（6月23日）说，近日法国已有40人因溺水身亡。法国等欧洲多国正在遭遇强热浪。

路透社报道，法国气象局表示，法国大部分地区已发布严重高温警报，预计星期二气温将达到40摄氏度左右，西部部分地区的气温甚至可能高达43摄氏度。

在法国各地，人们纷纷跳入运河和河流中消暑。法国体育部长法拉利说，她理解人们想要避暑的心情，但警告人们不要在未经许可或危险的区域游泳。

勒科尔尼说：“溺水事件频发，令人痛心。我们刚刚收到的最新数据显示，自6月18日以来，已有40人溺亡，其中大部分是年轻人。”

法国东南部卡庞特拉的一名检察官星期一（22日）说，两名分别为2岁和4岁的儿童被母亲发现昏迷在自家门外的车内，急救人员未能将他们救活。

在巴黎，上班族在酷热难耐的环境中通勤，他们因公寓缺乏隔热设施而彻夜难眠。一些列车被取消，包括巴黎和布鲁塞尔之间的列车。

商界领袖说，经济也因热浪受到冲击。

法国雇主联合会主席马丁在接受BFM电视台采访时说：“法国经济正在缓慢复苏。企业正在尽最大努力落实各项建议，以保护员工。”

除此之外，英国、意大利、瑞士和西班牙也正遭受极端高温的煎熬。

世界气象组织的数据显示，欧洲的升温速度是全球平均水平的两倍多。

美贸易代表格里尔访印度商谈贸易协议

2026年6月23日 17:15 / 联合早报

6月17日，在法国埃维昂举行的七国集团峰会期间，美国总统特朗普（右）与印度总理莫迪举行双边会谈。 （路透社）

（新德里路透电）美国贸易代表格里尔周二（6月23日）访问印度，开启为期两天的会谈，旨在推进美印贸易协定框架敲定工作。新德里方面希望最终达成的贸易协定，能争取到比其他亚洲经济体更为优厚的条件，提升印度的竞争优势。

印度商务部长高耶尔说：“我们正努力与美国协商，要确保我们获得相对优势，从而使我们的出口商受益。”

他表示，如果能在7月24日之前达成协议，他将“非常高兴”。7月24日是华盛顿对所有贸易伙伴加征10%临时关税的截止日期。

格里尔的办公室则表示，会谈旨在实现公平、平衡和互惠的贸易。美国驻印度大使馆在一份声明中说，美国致力于与印度达成公平互惠的贸易协议，为美国出口商开拓市场，并为两国人民创造更多就业机会、更多发展机遇和更大繁荣。

今年2月，美国总统特朗普与印度达成临时贸易协议。美国把针对印度部分商品的惩罚性关税从之前的25%（或更高）下调至18%。作为交换，印度同意降低对美国产品的贸易壁垒，并承诺在未来五年内增加对美国的采购。

与孟加拉、越南等竞争对手相比，印度面对的美国关税较低。不过，自从美国最高法院2月20日裁定特朗普实施的全球关税措施违法后，美国与印度的贸易协议谈判工作被打断。3月，美国贸易代表办公室根据《贸易法》301条款对包括印度在内的多个国家展开不公平贸易行为调查，进一步使美印谈判变得更为复杂。

分析人士称，华盛顿正利用这些调查向印度施压，要印度对外开放农产品和其他产品的市场，以及向美国购买更多能源和军工产品。

6月17日，在法国埃维昂举行的七国集团峰会期间，美国总统特朗普（右）与印度总理莫迪举行双边会谈。 （路透社）

（新德里路透电）美国贸易代表格里尔周二（6月23日）访问印度，开启为期两天的会谈，旨在推进美印贸易协定框架敲定工作。新德里方面希望最终达成的贸易协定，能争取到比其他亚洲经济体更为优厚的条件，提升印度的竞争优势。

印度商务部长高耶尔说：“我们正努力与美国协商，要确保我们获得相对优势，从而使我们的出口商受益。”

他表示，如果能在7月24日之前达成协议，他将“非常高兴”。7月24日是华盛顿对所有贸易伙伴加征10%临时关税的截止日期。

格里尔的办公室则表示，会谈旨在实现公平、平衡和互惠的贸易。美国驻印度大使馆在一份声明中说，美国致力于与印度达成公平互惠的贸易协议，为美国出口商开拓市场，并为两国人民创造更多就业机会、更多发展机遇和更大繁荣。

今年2月，美国总统特朗普与印度达成临时贸易协议。美国把针对印度部分商品的惩罚性关税从之前的25%（或更高）下调至18%。作为交换，印度同意降低对美国产品的贸易壁垒，并承诺在未来五年内增加对美国的采购。

与孟加拉、越南等竞争对手相比，印度面对的美国关税较低。不过，自从美国最高法院2月20日裁定特朗普实施的全球关税措施违法后，美国与印度的贸易协议谈判工作被打断。3月，美国贸易代表办公室根据《贸易法》301条款对包括印度在内的多个国家展开不公平贸易行为调查，进一步使美印谈判变得更为复杂。

分析人士称，华盛顿正利用这些调查向印度施压，要印度对外开放农产品和其他产品的市场，以及向美国购买更多能源和军工产品。

A tale of two parties: Trump, Mamdani put political clout on the line as four states hold primaries

2026-06-23T05:00:32-04:00 / Fox News

The NYC mayor is backing three left-wing congressional contenders taking on the Democratic Party’s old guard

By Paul Steinhauser Fox News

Published June 23, 2026 5:00am EDT | Updated June 23, 2026 5:22am EDT

Stuart Varney highlights New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s aggressive campaign to establish New York as America’s socialist hub. Mamdani supports three far-left House candidates, including Daria Alisa who proposes policies like free child care, free college, and abolishing ICE. Varney suggests Mamdani, at 34, is vying to become the new socialist leader, succeeding Bernie Sanders.

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9 min

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and President Donald Trump are not on the ballot, but their sway over the Democratic and Republican parties will be tested Tuesday as New York, Maryland, Utah, and South Carolina hold primary elections and runoffs.

Trump, seemingly aiming to hedge his bets, made an 11th hour endorsement ahead of the South Carolina GOP gubernatorial runoff and is now backing both candidates in the showdown to succeed term-limited Republican Gov. Henry McMaster.

Meanwhile, Mamdani is testing the limits of political power as he takes on the party establishment one year after sending political shock waves across the country with his New York City Democratic primary victory en route to winning election as mayor of the nation’s most populous city.

The 34-year-old socialist mayor is backing a slate of candidates in the primary, including a trio of left-wing congressional contenders who are taking on the Democratic Party’s old guard.

DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, second from right, and progressive champion Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, center, headline a rally for a slate of far-left congressional candidates at a Get Out The Vote rally in New York City on June 18, 2026, days ahead of the New York State primary.(Adam Gray/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

At the top of this list is political organizer Darializa Avila Chevalier, the Mamdani-backed primary challenger taking on Rep. Adriano Espaillat, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus chair, in New’ 13th U.S. House District, which covers the northern third of Manhattan and a sliver of the Bronx. Chevalier, 32, says a victory on Tuesday could be the “domino” that falls and builds a “socialist power” nationwide.

The 71-year-old Espaillat, who has been in Congress for a decade, is supported by a slew of party leaders, including New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.

The mayor is also backing former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, who ran against Mamdani last year in the crowded primary field but became one of his biggest backers. Lander is challenging incumbent Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman in the 10th Congressional District, which includes Lower Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn. Goldman’s supporters include former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

And in New York’s 7th, which covers parts of Brooklyn and Queens, Mamdani’endorsed state Assembly Member Claire Valdez, who is battling Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, who is backed by retiring Rep. Nydia Velazquez.

Along with the mayor, Valdez and Avila Chevalier are also members of the Democratic Socialists of America.

Valdez has said voters are looking for Democratic candidates with moral clarity on Israel, and the three congressional primary races have focused in part on anti-Israel sentiment, with Mamdani recently referring to AIPAC, a top pro-Israel lobbying group, as “monsters.”

“This is the team. This is our year. It’s up to all of us to get them over the finish line,” Mamdani emphasized in a social media post ahead of a rally last week with the three candidates and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, the longtime progressive champion and two-time Democratic presidential nominee runner-up.

And at the rally, Mamdani emphasized that the Democratic Party “must change.”

‘FULL-BLOWN BATTLE’ BREWING IN DEM PARTY AS MAMDANI-STYLE CANDIDATES RISE IN KEY RACES

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It’s a risky bet for the mayor, which could end with Mamdani being crowned a kingmaker, or weakening his political powers.

The socialist has been a darling of the far left for a year and a half. But six months into his tenure as New York City mayor, he can also count former critics within the Democratic Party, including Hochul, as allies. And he’s even earned praise from Trump.

Trump last year repeatedly claimed Mamdani was a “communist lunatic,” but during an Oval Office meeting in November that grabbed plenty of national attention, the president lauded Mamdani as a “very rational person” who would do a “really good job.”

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani meets with President Trump at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 26, 2026.(Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani via X)

Longtime Democratic strategist Joe Caiazzo told Fox News Digital, “It’s crystal clear that Mamdani understands power and how to leverage it.”

“He remains incredibly popular, and it appears he also understands that may not always be the case. That’s why I think you see him flexing his political muscle now. It’s smart politics,” added Caiazzo, a veteran of the 2016 and 2020 Sanders presidential campaigns.

The candidates Mamdani’s backing, including some running for state legislative offices, are mostly showcasing the mayor’s platform of focusing on affordability in a city with one of the nation’s highest costs of living.

Mamdani’s support for the trio of congressional candidates, along with Thursday’s rally with Sanders, gives Republicans, who have long cast the mayor as a radical, more ammunition to use him as a cudgel as they work to hold their razor-thin House majority in this year’s midterm elections.

“Zohran Mamdani’s socialist brand is as toxic as it comes,” National Republican Congressional Committee National Press Secretary Mike Marinella told Fox News Digital.

“And during a time when Democrats don’t have a leader or a message, he’s exactly the kind of bogeyman we can use against Democrats to truly show who is leading their party and the crazy policies they all support.”

In South Carolina, Trump on Friday took to social media to say that he was supporting longtime state Attorney General Alan Wilson as well as Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette in the battle for the GOP gubernatorial nomination.

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, left, a Republican gubernatorial candidate, shakes hands with a voter on the eve of the state’s runoff elections, on June 22, 2026 in Sumter, S.C.(Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)

“I can’t hurt one of them by only Endorsing the other, so, therefore, I am going to Endorse, for Governor of South Carolina, both Pam Evette and Alan Wilson!” Trump wrote, adding: “With either one you can’t go wrong.”

The endorsement of Wilson appeared to be a move by Trump to cover his bases, because Trump was already backing Evette, who is also supported by McMaster, a longtime top ally of the president.

The South Carolina runoff had been viewed as the latest test of Trump’s immense grip over the GOP and the power of his endorsements in Republican nominating contests.

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And his decision to back both Evette and Wilson wasn’t the first time he’s made dual endorsements in the same Republican race. Most famously, Trump endorsed “ERIC” in the 2022 GOP Senate primary in Missouri, where the two major candidates were Eric Schmitt and Eric Greitens. Both candidates claimed the endorsement, with Schmitt ultimately winning the nomination.

In South Carolina, Trump endorsed Evette late last month, a week and a half before the gubernatorial primary.

Evette finished on top of a crowded field of contenders in the primary election, with Wilson second. The field also included Reps. Nancy Mace and Ralph Norman, and multimillionaire businessman Rom Reddy. Since no candidate won a majority of the vote, as the top two finishers, Evette and Wilson advanced to the June 23 runoff.

Mace and Norman endorsed Wilson after failing to advance to the runoff. And Wilson was also backed — and joined on the campaign trail on the eve of the runoff by Sen. Ted Cruz, the conservative firebrand from Texas.

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Mace, reacting to Trump’s endorsement of both Evette and Wilson, wrote on social media, “LMAO,” which is a common abbreviation for the phrase “laughing my a– off.”

The runoff between Evette and Wilson turned combustible, and in last week’s final debate, both candidates launched personal attacks and accused each other of lying and misrepresenting their records.

Wilson worked to contrast his tenure as attorney general with what he’s argued is Evette’s largely ceremonial role as lieutenant governor. And he has spotlighted his experience as a combat veteran, prosecutor, and the state’s top law enforcement official.

Evette showcased herself as an outsider and a Trump-endorsed businesswoman, while casting Wilson as a career politician.

The power of the president’s endorsement is also on the line in upstate New York, in the race to succeed retiring Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik.

Trump is backing first-time candidate Anthony Constantino, a businessman and former boxer, who is facing off against Robert Smullen, a retired Marine Corps colonel and New York assemblyman who has the backing of the state party.

Also on the primary ballot

Incumbent Rep. Jerry Nadler’s decision to retire left his Manhattan district open for the first time since he was elected in 1992. Notable Democratic candidates in this crowded field include New York Assembly members Alex Bores and Micah Lasher, the late President John F. Kennedy’s grandson Jack Schlossberg, and former conservative lawyer and onetime anti-Trump Republican George Conway. Nadler endorsed Lasher — a former congressional staffer.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., stands outside the Delaney Hall Detention Center in Newark, New Jersey.(Rashid Umar Abbasi for Fox News Digital.)

Meanwhile, five Democrats are facing off in the primary in New York’s 17th Congressional District, in New York City’s northern suburbs and exurbs, with the winner facing off against GOP Rep. Mike Lawler in a key general election race that is one of a couple dozen that will decide if Republicans hold their razor-thin House majority.

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In Utah, voters will nominate candidates for Congress using a new map that created a Democratic-friendly district in Salt Lake City, which upended reelection plans of the state’s all-Republican delegation.

And in Maryland, Democratic Gov. Wes Moore faces a longshot primary challenger as he runs for re-election amid speculation that he also has his eye on a potential 2028 presidential campaign.

Fox News’ Sally Persons and the Associated Press contributed to this report

Paul Steinhauser covers the national campaign trail from coast to coast for Fox News

Planned auction of Titanic artifacts including personal belongings faces U.S. government pushback

2026-06-23 07:25 EDT / CBS/AP

A plan to auction more than 100 artifacts salvaged from the wreckage of the Titanic – including personal belongings, currency, kitchen items and decor – is facing pushback from the U.S. government, according to newly unsealed court documents.

RMS Titanic Inc., the company that owns exclusive salvage rights to the famous wreck in the North Atlantic, wants to sell the artifacts for the first time despite previous agreements to only display them at museums and traveling exhibitions.

Georgia-based RMS Titanic proposed auctioning the artifacts and displaying them on a global tour in four cities, although those locations haven’t been publicly revealed. Court documents filed in the U.S. referenced the company’s plan to sell artifacts including a bronze cherub, a necklace of gold nuggets and a heart-shaped pendant.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration represents U.S. interests and oversight in the wreck site. The agency contends such a sale would violate RMS Titanic’s legal obligations to the site, according to documents a judge ordered unsealed earlier this month.

In arguing that the auction should be prohibited, the government wrote that the company “does not seek the Court’s approval, does not believe that approval is required, and asserts that it is not restricted in its ability to sell” the artifacts.

Representatives for RMS Titanic did not respond to requests for comment Monday. Its attorneys previously said in a federal court filing that the proposed auction arrangement wouldn’t violate existing court orders and agreements about the artifacts.

Latest attempt to sell Titanic artifacts

Since 1987, salvage operations have retrieved thousands of items and even chunks of the Titanic’s hull. RMS Titanic makes money by exhibiting them.

Over the decades, the company has tried to sell artifacts to fund future explorations and as it faced financial trouble. But those efforts were roundly opposed by U.S. courts along with preservation groups and relatives of the victims. Some of the salvaged items belonged to passengers aboard the ship.

However, items saved by survivors or plucked from the water by rescuers can be sold and often fetch big sums.

In April, a life jacket worn by a passenger on the Titanic as she escaped the sinking steamship on a lifeboat sold at auction for $906,000. A seat cushion from one of the Titanic lifeboats sold at the same Henry Aldridge & Son auction for $527,000.

In 2025, a collector paid a record price of over $2 million for a gold pocket watch linked to the Titanic. The 18-carat gold watch was gifted to its original owner, Isidor Straus, by his wife, Ida Straus, for his 43rd birthday. Straus, an American businessman and owner of Macy’s, and his wife were first-class passengers on the Titanic.

Isidor Straus’ gold pocket watch. Henry Aldridge and Son

Other items sold in recent years include a menu from a first meal, a launch ticket and a water-logged letter written by American passenger Oscar Holverson. In 2013, a violin believed to have been played on the Titanic before the doomed vessel sank sold for $1.45 million at auction.

Auctioneers say the unending fascination with the Titanic – which sank in 1912 after hitting an iceberg on its maiden voyage from Europe to New York, killing more than 1,500 people – and the rarity of artifacts adds up to high demand and exorbitant prices.

Trans-Atlantic dispute over the artifacts

RMS Titanic wants to auction some of the first artifacts salvaged from the wreck. Those items were taken to France, which awarded ownership of them to the salvager. French oceanographic institute IFREMER partnered with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution on the discovery of the wreck.

The rest of the collection was retrieved during subsequent expeditions, and the salvage claim was made in a U.S. District Court in Norfolk, Virginia.

NOAA argues that all of the roughly 5,000 items – regardless of whether they were claimed in France or the U.S. – must remain in one collection based on conditions set by the U.S. court. NOAA also maintains on its website that a French court’s conditions required that the artifacts not be sold individually and be kept together as a single collection.

The company has argued, among other things, that the U.S. court lacks jurisdiction over the items claimed in France.

Representatives for the French government did not respond to requests for comment late Monday.

Pieces of history

Some undersea explorers have pushed back at the idea of selling Titanic artifacts, which they argue should be displayed in the public interest.

“I don’t have a problem with people recovering artifacts from the Titanic as long as it’s done careful, with proper archaeological techniques,” said Greg Stone, a veteran ocean explorer and ocean scientist. “I’d feel better if it was a nonprofit enterprise.”

Richard Daynard, a law professor at Northeastern University School of Law in Boston who specializes in public interest advocacy, said rules on the display and sale of Titanic artifacts are intended to preserve the wreckage for the benefit of the public, and so it can’t be “picked up by billionaires for further display of their wealth and power.”

“If it’s something where someone can walk through their house and say ‘Yes, I bought this for $5 million and it’s original from the Titanic,’ that’s not a good thing,” he said.

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/gold-pocket-watch-becomes-most-expensive-piece-of-memorabilia-linked-to-titanic/

Explainer: What are the Fed’s bank ‘stress tests’ and what’s new this year?

2026-06-23T10:03:33.739Z / https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/what-are-feds-bank-stress-tests-whats-new-this-year-2026-06-23/

• Summary
• Companies

• Wednesday’s results will not affect banks’ capital requirements or shareholder payout capacity
• This year’s exercise covers 32 banks and models a severe global recession
• Fed has proposed letting banks review and comment on future test models and scenarios

WASHINGTON, June 23 (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Reserve is due to release the results of its annual bank health ​checks on Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. ET (2000 GMT).

Under the “stress test” exercise, the Fed tests big banks’ balance sheets against a hypothetical scenario of a severe ‌economic downturn, the elements of which change annually. Usually, the results are a big deal because they dictate how much capital those banks need to set aside to be healthy, and how much they can return to shareholders via share buybacks and dividends.

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Coming amid a sweeping overhaul of capital rules led by President Donald Trump’s bank regulators, this year’s tests will not change capital levels, although ​they will still offer insight into the health of the banking system.

Here’s what you need to know:

WHY DOES THE FED ‘STRESS TEST’ BANKS?

The Fed established the tests ​following the 2007-2009 financial crisis as a tool to ensure banks could withstand a similar shock in future.

The tests formally began ⁠in 2011, and large lenders initially struggled to earn passing grades. Citigroup (C.N), Bank of America (BAC.N), JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N), and Goldman Sachs Group (GS.N), for example, had to adjust their ​capital plans to address the Fed’s concerns. Deutsche Bank’s U.S. subsidiary failed in 2015, 2016 and 2018.

However, years of practice have made banks more adept at the tests ​and the Fed also has made the tests more transparent. It ended much of the drama of the tests by scrapping the “pass-fail” model in 2020 and introducing a more nuanced, bank-specific capital regime.

HOW ARE BANKS ASSESSED?

The test assesses whether banks would stay above the required 4.5% minimum capital ratio – which represents the percentage of its capital relative to assets – during the hypothetical downturn. Banks that perform ​strongly typically stay well above that. The nation’s largest global banks also must hold an additional “G-SIB surcharge” of at least 1%.

How well a bank performs on the ​test also dictates the size of its “stress capital buffer,” an additional layer of capital introduced in 2020 which sits on top of the 4.5% minimum.

That extra cushion is determined by each bank’s ‌hypothetical losses. ⁠The larger the losses, the larger the buffer.

This year’s test, which applies to 32 banks, includes a severe global recession, and heightened stress in commercial and residential real estate markets. Banks with large trading operations are also tested against a global market shock, as well as the surprise default of their largest counterparty.

HOW ARE THIS YEAR’S RESULTS DIFFERENT?

The Fed announced in February that it would not update those buffers following the 2026 test, and instead will stick with the existing buffers for the time being. That means ​Wednesday’s results will provide a glimpse for ​analysts and investors into the overall health ⁠of each firm, but will not mean much in terms of capital allocation.

WHY ARE CAPITAL LEVELS NOT CHANGING?

The Fed is holding capital steady as it reworks the tests in response to industry criticisms. Banks have long complained that the process is overly ​opaque, subjective and a massive undertaking.

The Fed made changes to address criticisms, including moving away from the “pass/fail” model and ​scrapping a qualitative component that ⁠lenders said gave the Fed too much discretion to ding them. The central bank also created the stress capital buffer to simplify the system and to more closely tailor capital levels to each bank’s individual risks.

But the industry was still unhappy, arguing that the process remained too opaque, and in 2024 sued the Fed to force it to make fixes. ⁠Under the Fed’s ​proposed changes, banks would be able to see and provide feedback on the once-confidential models it uses ​for the test, as well as the annual scenarios.

The shift was a major win for banks, although critics warned it could make the exams less dynamic.

Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman, who is steering ​the changes, said freezing capital levels during this year’s exam would allow regulators to incorporate feedback and “correct any deficiencies.”

Reporting by Pete Schroeder; Editing by Michelle Price and Andrea Ricci