The News

Apple is geared up to announce many new changes to the software of its popular products including the iPhone at its annual Worldwide Developer Conference in California this week. Rumour has it there are big changes coming to the iPhone, iPad, and Mac with AI the name of the game - Apple is playing catchup with its rivals Samsung and Google. But the American tech titan might also finally let its loyal British customers know when they’ll be able to buy one of its latest products, the Apple Vision Pro.

Vision Pro is Apple’s virtual reality headset, even though the firm refuses to call it that. It prefers the term ‘spatial computing’ to describe the headset which can display VR experiences such as fullscreen movies and video, but also augmented reality (AR) scenarios such as floating computer windows while you can also see the world around you. It’s all very Minority Report, and all very expensive - the device costs $3,499 in the US, currently the only country it’s on sale.

But there are whispers this could change as soon as this week. WWDC kicks off on Monday 10 June and goes until Friday 14 June. It’s a conference where developers of apps and services gather to learn about how Apple is changing iOS for the iPhone as well as iPadOS, macOS, tvOS and watchOS for all its other products. Though Apple is expected to concentrate on iOS 18 updates, the company could be set to announce the UK release date and price for the Vision Pro.

Macrumors reported that Tim Cook recently confirmed during a trip to China that the Vision Pro will go on sale there at some point in 2024. That’s a big deal, as Apple will have had to optimise visionOS to run in Chinese compared to the US English version on sale. We imagine it’d be less work to get a UK English version out, so the UK could see Apple’s latest gadget hit store shelves in time for Christmas.

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Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) is a “generational opportunity” that could grow to become 10-15% of the S&P 500 index, Evercore ISI analysts said in a Sunday note.

According to the investment banking firm, Nvidia is not just a semiconductor company but an “ecosystem play” set to lead the age of parallel processing. “driven by an every 15-20 year Tectonic Shift in Computing."

Analysts posit that Nvidia's current breakout above $1,000 per share has "unlocked the door" for the stock to hit as high as $1,500, a projection supported by the strong performance of the Semiconductor Index, which has risen by 87% since October 2023, though still short of the historic tech bubble surge.

Evercore's analysis indicates that Nvidia's growth is far from reaching its peak, with the firm outlining a base case for Nvidia's earnings per share (EPS) power in 2030 at $69, and a bull case reaching $82.

This projection “could be conservative if 2030 prospective “start date” for Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) materializes,” the note states.

It also highlights that while high-profile stock splits often fuel short-term volatility, they also “reset the generational buying opportunity, time after time.” Nvidia's upcoming 10:1 stock split is expected to be a catalyst for a temporary surge followed by a strategic buying opportunity for patient investors.

While Evercore views NVDA as a standout opportunity, it remains bullish on other “AI revolutionaries.” As the firm explains it, these are the companies “enabling the AI Revolution and those who have adopted AI quickly in order to deepen their competitive moats

 Best friends, whether near or far away, help us to navigate life's ups and downs. They share our joys, help us cope with our tragedies, and, most importantly, they are present in both the good and bad periods of our lives.

It is important that you recognise and appreciate the positive relationships in your life. While friendship celebrations occur throughout the year, June 8 is celebrated as Best Friends Day, mostly in the United States and Canada. Celebrating Best Friends Day is one of the ways we can say how much we love our chosen family. Whether it's about sharing secrets, going on a holiday or chatting late into the night, we can't think of a day without friends.

Significance

The day is marked to honour the friendships that bind us to our friends. National Best Friends Day celebrates the bonds that bind a person to their closest buddy or group of friends. Your parents, grandparents, siblings, spouse, coworkers, students, and even pets may all be considered your best friends. The day is all about cherishing every minute spent, making new memories, and being thankful for the relationship you have.

There are no specific customs associated with commemorating this unique day. You are free to observe the special occasion in your own manner. Eating a meal at your favourite restaurant, sharing heartfelt posts on social media, going out for a drink with your friends, exchanging thoughtful messages, and engaging in bonding activities like painting, dancing, and rock climbing are a few ways to celebrate National Best Friends Day. You can even plan that long-pending trip with your best friend/s to your favourite destination.

Additionally, you can send gifts like scrapbooks and personalised jewellery or clothes with "best friend" written over it. Gifts typically have a higher sentimental and considerate value than monetary purchases.

Wishes And Messages

• No matter where we go, or how old we grow, our bond will be unbreakable for life. Happy friendship day to my best friend.
• Happy National Friends Day! may our beautiful friendship always stay the same.
• You are the kindest, funniest and most helpful person I've ever met. Happy National Friends Day!'
• Thank you for being my bestie! Happy Best Friends Day!
• We are across the miles, but our friendship knows no distance. I wish you a happy friendship day.
• You have lightened up my world with your contagious laugh, and I feel the happiness around you. You give me hope in the bad times and tell me to move on in life to grow as every bad day comes to an end.
• Happy National Friends Day to all the amazing people who touched our lives during difficult times.
• I count myself lucky to have you as my best friend! Happy Best Friends Day buddy!

Fever vs. Mystics odds, time, spread: 2024 WNBA picks, Caitlin Clark predictions for June 7 from proven expert

The Washington Mystics (0-9) host Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever (2-9) on Friday evening as both teams look to get going after slow starts. These Eastern Conference foes have been facing off since 2005 and Washington leads the all-time series 40-39. These teams split the season series 2-2 last year. 

Tipoff is at 7:30 p.m. ET at Entertainment and Sports Arena in Washington D.C. The Fever are 3-point road favorites in the latest Fever vs. Mystics odds, while the over/under for total points is 162. Caitlin Clark is +550 to score first in the game and her over/under for total points is 17.5. Before making any Mystics vs. Fever picks, be sure to see the WNBA predictions from SportsLine's women's basketball expert Calvin Wetzel. 

Since the start of the 2021-22 women's college basketball campaign, Wetzel is an insane 1,384-988 (+371.33 units). Wetzel also predicted 66 of 68 NCAA Women's Tournament teams this year, as well as 62 of 68 teams within one seed line, and correctly picked 13 of 16 second-round games. Anybody following him has seen huge returns. 

Now, he has set his sights on Fever vs. Mystics and just locked in his picks and WNBA predictions. You can visit SportsLine now to see his picks. Here are several WNBA betting lines and trends for Mystics vs. Fever:

• Fever vs. Mystics spread: Indiana -3
• Fever vs. Mystics over/under: 162 points
• Fever vs. Mystics money line: Indiana -160, Washington +135
• WASH: Under is 6-1 in Mystics last seven home games
• IND: Fever are 7-2-1 ATS in their last 10 games vs. a team with a losing straight-up record
• Fever vs. Mystics picks: See picks at SportsLine

Why the Fever can cover

Clark leads the way with an average of 15.6 points and 6.4 assists per game, but the Fever have other threats as well. Forward Aliyah Boston is a two-way force in the frontcourt for the Fever. Boston can score in the low post and owns a nice mid-range jumper. The South Carolina product logs 10.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. In the May 30 loss to the Seattle Storm, Boston dropped 11 points, 12 boards and five assists.

Forward NaLyssa Smith brings another dynamic player to the floor. Smith excels in the pick-and-roll with a knack for snagging rebounds. The 23-year-old averages 11.9 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. She's totaled 17-plus points in three straight games. In Sunday's loss to the Liberty, Smith had 17 points and eight rebounds. See which side to back at SportsLine.

Why the Mystics can cover

Guard Ariel Atkins is a high-energy playmaker in the backcourt. She gets out in transition, knocks down perimeter shots and plays solid defense. The 27-year-old averages 13.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.9 steals per game. On May 29 against the Atlanta Dream, Atkins racked up 21 points, eight rebounds, three dimes and two steals.

Guard Julie Vanloo provides Washington with a veteran playmaker in the backcourt. Vanloo has good court vision and is able to hit shots on the outside. The 31-year-old puts up 8 points, 2.4 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game. She's scored in double figures in four games this season. In a May 25 contest against the Seattle Storm, Vanloo finished with 12 points and three assists. See which side to back at SportsLine.

How to make WNBA picks for Fever vs. Mystics

Wetzel is leaning Under on the point total and he has locked in two Mystics vs. Fever picks -- one on a side and a must-see Caitlin Clark prop. Go to SportsLine to see what they are.

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Inspired by an 18th century Scottish philosopher and the modern scourge of misinformation, Suzanne Collins is returning to the ravaged, post-apocalyptic land of Panem for a new “The Hunger Games” novel.

Scholastic announced Thursday that “Sunrise on the Reaping,” the fifth volume of Collins’ blockbuster dystopian series, will be published March 18, 2025. The new book begins with the reaping of the Fiftieth Hunger Games, set 24 years before the original “Hunger Games” novel, which came out in 2008, and 40 years after Collins’ most recent book, “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.”

Lionsgate, which has released film adaptations of all four previous “Hunger Games” books, announced later on Thursday that “Sunrise on the Reaping” will open in theaters on Nov. 20, 2026. Francis Lawrence, who has worked on all but the first “Hunger Games” movie, will return as director.

The first four “Hunger Games” books have sold more than 100 million copies and been translated into dozens of languages. Collins had seemingly ended the series after the 2010 publication of “Mockingjay,” writing in 2015 that it was “time to move on to other lands.” But four years later, she stunned readers and the publishing world when she revealed she was working on what became “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” released in 2020 and set 64 years before the first book.

Collins has drawn upon Greek mythology and the Roman gladiator games for her earlier “Hunger Games” books. But for the upcoming novel, she cites the Scottish Enlightenment philosopher David Hume.

“With ‘Sunrise on the Reaping,’ I was inspired by David Hume’s idea of implicit submission and, in his words, ‘the easiness with which the many are governed by the few,’” Collins said in a statement. “The story also lent itself to a deeper dive into the use of propaganda and the power of those who control the narrative. The question ‘Real or not real?’ seems more pressing to me every day.”

The “Hunger Games” movies are a multibillion dollar franchise for Lionsgate. Jennifer Lawrence portrayed heroine Katniss Everdeen in the film versions of “The Hunger Games,” “Catching Fire” and “Mockingjay,” the last of which came out in two installments. Other featured actors have included Philip Seymour Hoffman, Josh Hutcherson, Stanley Tucci and Donald Sutherland.

“Suzanne Collins is a master storyteller and our creative north star,” Lionsgate chair Adam Fogelson said in a statement. “We couldn’t be more fortunate than to be guided and trusted by a collaborator whose talent and imagination are so consistently brilliant.”

The film version of “Songbirds and Snakes,” starring Tom Blyth and Rachel Zegler, came out last year. This fall, a “Hunger Games” stage production is scheduled to debut in London.

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SpaceX’s Starship rocket has completed its first-ever full flight, after surviving re-entry in a breakthrough for the prototype system that may one day send people to Mars.

Three previous missions have ended with the rocket, which stands nearly 121 metres (400 feet) tall, blowing up or disintegrating, but this time Starship survived re-entry and made a controlled fall into the Indian Ocean just 65 minutes after launching from the US state of Texas.

Despite loss of many tiles and a damaged flap, Starship made it all the way to a soft landing in the ocean!” SpaceX CEO Elon Musk wrote on X, the social media platform he owns.

“Today was a great day for humanity’s future as a spacefaring civilization!” he added.

Starship blasted off from the company’s Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, at 7.50am (12:50 GMT), before soaring to space and coasting halfway across the globe.

It reached an altitude of nearly 211 kilometres (130 miles), travelling at more than 26,000km/h (16,000mph) before beginning its descent. A live broadcast showed parts of the spacecraft breaking off during the intense heat of reentry, and a chunk of flying debris even cracked the camera lens.

The spacecraft remained sufficiently intact to transmit data to its targeted splashdown site in the Indian Ocean.

The success of the mission marks a critical milestone in the company’s plan to develop a reusable rocket that NASA and Musk are counting on to get humanity to the moon and then Mars.

NASA has contracted a modified version of Starship for use as the final vehicle to take astronauts down to the surface of the moon under the Artemis programme and needs the company to demonstrate that it will be able to do that safely.

“Congratulations SpaceX on Starship’s successful test flight this morning!” NASA chief Bill Nelson wrote on X. “We are another step closer to returning humanity to the Moon through #Artemis — then looking onward to Mars.”

SpaceX is committed to a strategy of carrying out tests in the real world rather than in labs.

The next challenge is to develop a “fully and immediately reusable orbital heat shield,” said Musk, promising further tests as it attempts to build a reusable satellite launcher and moon lander.

Much is riding on SpaceX’s development of Starship, with NASA aiming to use it to return astronauts to the moon in 2026 in a rivalry with China, which plans to send its astronauts there by 2030. China has made several recent advances in its lunar programme, including a second landing on the moon’s far side in a sample retrieval mission.

Starship’s first launch in April 2023 exploded minutes after liftoff some 40km (25 miles) above ground, while its second attempt in November blew up after reaching space. The rocket’s third test flight in March made it much farther but broke apart during atmospheric re-entry some 64km (40 miles) above the Indian Ocean.

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GameStop (NYSE: GME) previously entered into an Open Market Sale AgreementSM, or Sales Agreement, with Jefferies LLC, or Jefferies, on May 17, 2024, relating to shares of our Class A common stock, par value $0.001 per share, or common stock. In accordance with the terms of the Sales Agreement, we may offer and sell shares of our common stock from time to time through Jefferies, acting as our sales agent and referred to as the “Sales Agent.” We have previously sold an aggregate of 45,000,000 shares of our common stock for aggregate gross proceeds of approximately $933.4 million pursuant to the Sales Agreement and the prospectus supplement filed by us on May 17, 2024. Under this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, and in accordance with the terms of the Sales Agreement, we may offer and sell up to an additional 75,000,000 shares of our common stock from and after the date hereof.

Our common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, or the NYSE, under the symbol “GME.” On June 6, 2024, the last reported sale price of our common stock on the NYSE was $46.55 per share. Our common stock has experienced extreme volatility in price and trading volume. From February 4, 2024 to June 6, 2024, the closing price of our common stock on the NYSE ranged from as low as $10.01 to as high as $48.75 and daily trading volume ranged from approximately 1,731,300 to 206,979,100 shares. During such period, we did not experience any material changes in our financial condition or results of operations that would explain such price volatility or trading volume. Furthermore, since January 2021 through the date hereof, the market price of our common stock has seen extreme price fluctuations that do not appear to be based on the underlying fundamentals of our business or results of operations. Investors that purchase shares of our common stock in this offering may lose a significant portion of their investments if the price of our common stock subsequently declines. Please see the section of this prospectus supplement titled “Risk Factors.”

Sales of our common stock, if any, under this prospectus supplement may be made by any method permitted that is deemed to be an “at the market offering” as defined in Rule 415(a)(4) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act. The Sales Agent is not required to sell any specific number or dollar amount of shares of our common stock but will act as our sales agent and use commercially reasonable efforts to sell on our behalf all of the shares of common stock requested to be sold by us, consistent with normal trading and sales practices of the Sales Agent, on terms mutually agreed between the Sales Agent and us. There is no arrangement for funds to be received in any escrow, trust or similar arrangement.

The Sales Agent will be entitled to compensation at a commission rate of up to 1.5% of the gross sales price per share of common stock sold through them as sales agent pursuant to the Sales Agreement. In connection with the sale of shares of our common stock on our behalf, the Sales Agent will be deemed to be an “underwriter” within the meaning of the Securities Act and the compensation of the Sales Agent will be deemed to be underwriting commissions or discounts. We have also agreed to provide indemnification and contribution to the Sales Agent with respect to certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. See “Plan of Distribution” beginning on page S-11 regarding the compensation to be paid to the Sales Agent.

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