Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina said Sunday he will not seek reelection next year, an abrupt announcement that came one day after he staked out his opposition to President Donald Trump’s tax breaks and spending cuts package because of its reductions to health care programs.
His decision creates a political opportunity for Democrats seeking to bolster their numbers in the 2026 midterm elections, creating a wide-open Senate race in a state that has long been a contested battleground. It could also make Tillis a wild card in a party where few lawmakers are willing to risk Trump’s wrath by opposing his agenda or actions. Trump had already been threatening him with a primary challenge.
“In Washington over the last few years, it’s become increasingly evident that leaders who are willing to embrace bipartisanship, compromise, and demonstrate independent thinking are becoming an endangered species,” Tillis said in a lengthy statement.
Tillis, who would have been up for a third term, said he was proud of his career in public service but acknowledged the difficult political environment for those who buck their party and go it alone.
“I look forward to having the pure freedom to call the balls and strikes as I see fit and representing the great people of North Carolina to the best of my ability,” Tillis said in a statement.
Republicans hold a 53-47 edge in the Senate.
Trump, in social posts, had berated Tillis for being one of two Republican senators who voted on Saturday night against advancing the massive tax bill.
The Republican president accused Tillis of seeking publicity with his “no” vote and threatened to campaign against him, accusing the senator of doing nothing to help his constituents after last year’s devastating floods in western North Carolina from Hurricane Helene.
“Tillis is a talker and complainer, NOT A DOER,” Trump wrote.
The North Carolina Republican Party chairman, Jason Simmons, said the party wishes Tillis well and “will hold this seat for Republicans in 2026.” Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, the chairman of the campaign arm for Senate Republicans, did not mention Tillis in a statement but said the party’s winning streak in North Carolina will continue. Scott noted that Trump won the state three times.
Democrats expressed confidence about their prospects.
“I’ve flipped a tough seat before and we’re going to do it again,” Nickel said in a statement.
Some said Tillis’ decision is another sign of the dramatic transformation of the Republican Party under Trump, with few lawmakers critical of the president or his agenda remaining in office.
It “proves there is no space within the Republican Party to dissent over taking health care away from 11.8 million people,” said Lauren French, spokesperson for the Senate Majority PAC, a political committee aligned with the chamber’s Democratic members.
Tillis rose to prominence in North Carolina when, as a second-term state House member, he quit his IBM consultant job and led the GOP’s recruitment and fundraising efforts in the chamber for the 2010 elections. Republicans won majorities in the House and Senate for the first time in 140 years.
Tillis was later elected as state House speaker and helped enact conservative policies on taxes, gun rights, regulations and abortion while serving in the role for four years. He also helped push a state constitutional referendum to ban gay marriage, which was approved by voters in 2012 but was ultimately struck down by the courts as unconstitutional.
In 2014, Tillis helped flip control of the U.S. Senate to the GOP after narrowly defeating Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan. During his more than a decade in office, he championed issues such as mental health and substance abuse recovery, Medicaid expansion and support for veterans.
As a more moderate Republican, Tillis became known for his willingness to work across the aisle on some issues. That got him into trouble with his party at times, most notably in 2023 when North Carolina Republicans voted to censure him over several matters, including his challenges to certain immigration policies and his gun policy record.
“Sometimes those bipartisan initiatives got me into trouble with my own party,” Tillis said, “but I wouldn’t have changed a single one.”
Branding is one of those words we all use, but few of us pause to define it truly. In its purest sense, branding is the process of shaping perception. It is how a company, a product or even a person is recognised, remembered and differentiated. While branding often evokes logos, colours and taglines, its roots lie much deeper in reputation, consistency and trust.
The term “branding” comes from the Old Norse word brandr, which means “to burn”. Originally used to mark livestock with a symbol of ownership, the word later took on a broader meaning. In a commercial sense, branding began to take form in the late nineteenth century with the rise of mass production. Companies like Coca-Cola, Campbell’s and Kellogg’s pioneered the idea that products needed distinct identities to stand out on increasingly crowded shelves. These early efforts focused on product recognition and consumer trust.
The modern concept of brand strategies, meaning the strategic crafting of a brand’s essence, truly took shape during the twentieth century. Figures like David Ogilvy and Walter Landor helped turn branding into a professional discipline that combined marketing, design and consumer psychology. In the 1960s and 1970s, branding matured into a powerful business tool. Companies used it not just to sell products, but to create customer loyalty in a world of growing choice.
Since then, brand strategies have undergone significant evolution. We transitioned from product-focused branding, where features and performance were the primary focus, to emotional branding, which aimed to connect with how people feel. Today, we are living in the era of personal branding. The founder, the public face, or even the consumer can now become the brand itself.
This transformation reflects more than a shift in marketing tactics. It demonstrates how deeply branding is intertwined with the way people perceive companies and how companies strive to connect with us. Branding is no longer just about what you sell; it’s about who you are. It is about who you are and what you allow others to become through your story. That is the new frontier of brand strategies.
From the 1960s to the 2000s. The Age of Product and Emotion
The evolution of brand strategies in the latter half of the twentieth century is a masterclass in how businesses adapted to mass media, consumer psychology and globalisation. During this period, branding shifted from merely identifying a product to building entire worlds of meaning around it.
The 1960s and 70s. Trust through consistency
Photo by Joe Darams
In the 1960s, most brand strategies were still rooted in the product. Advertising was used to communicate what a product did, how it worked and why it was superior. This was the age of the USP, the unique selling proposition, coined by Rosser Reeves. Each product had to represent a single, straightforward idea. For example, M&M’s “melts in your mouth, not in your hands” promised something rational and memorable.
David Ogilvy, considered one of the fathers of modern branding, famously said: “The consumer is not a moron. She is your wife.” His approach respected intelligence and focused on clarity, product benefit and storytelling. Brands like Dove, Rolls-Royce and Shell relied on credibility and repetition. The goal was simple: earn trust.
The 1980s. Rise of lifestyle branding
By the 1980s, brand strategies became more sophisticated. The product was still central, but advertising now created a lifestyle around it. Nike’s “Just Do It”, launched in 1988, did not focus on shoes. It sold motivation, independence and grit. It made the consumer the hero.
Apple began to emerge as a disruptor. Their 1984 ad, directed by Ridley Scott, positioned the Macintosh as a tool of rebellion against conformity. It was no longer about processing power. It was about being a part of something visionary.
Brands started to act like media entities. They no longer only sold products; they sold values. Coca-Cola was not just a drink. It was happiness in a bottle. Pepsi was not just a refreshment. It was the voice of the next generation.
This emotional framing created loyalty, especially among young consumers. It laid the groundwork for brand strategies that went far beyond utility. Identity became a core objective.
Photo by Declan Sun
The 1990s. Emotional branding goes global.
The 1990s further intensified this emotional shift. Consumers were no longer satisfied with performance. They wanted a connection. This gave birth to what many now call “emotional branding”, a term popularised by Marc Gobé in his book published in 2001.
This shift was also tied to the rise of globalisation. As brands expanded internationally, they had to appeal across cultures. Emotion became a universal language. McDonald’s spoke of family. Levi’s told stories of freedom and individuality. Benetton stirred conversations on politics, race and peace through provocative visuals.
Technology brands used emotion to humanise innovation. Think of Intel’s sound logo or IBM’s “Solutions for a Small Planet”. The point was not just that these companies were smart. They were trustworthy, helpful and human.
Photo by Pasquale Farro
The early 2000s. Feeling like a better version of yourself
By the early 2000s, emotional branding had evolved into something even more intimate. The brand was now a mirror for your aspirations. A computer was no longer just a tool for work; it had become a personal companion. It was a gateway to creativity, freedom, and personal expression.
Apple’s “Think Different” campaign encapsulated this perfectly. It showed black-and-white images of Einstein, Gandhi, and Picasso. The message was clear. Buy Apple and join the ranks of those who change the world.
This moment in the evolution of brand strategies was profound. It marked a shift from selling the product to selling the transformation you could experience through it. You were not just buying sneakers. You were buying the possibility of self-discipline. You were not just buying a coffee. You were buying a moment of comfort in a chaotic world.
In short, the product itself was becoming less visible. What you felt, what you believed and how you imagined yourself became central to the entire strategy. Brand strategies had become vehicles for identity.
Apple Advertising from the early years of the 2000s.
Today and the Rise of Personal Branding
Today’s brand strategies are more intimate, visible, and human than ever before. In a landscape saturated with products, services and digital noise, people no longer buy what you do. They buy who you are. This evolution marks the entrance into what many refer to as the age of personal branding.
The human face of a brand
Scroll through any feed. What do you see? Founders speak directly to their audience. CEOs explaining decisions in personal posts. Designers, marketers and engineers stepping out from behind corporate walls. The story of the company has become the story of its people.
This shift reflects a growing need for authenticity. Consumers want to know who is behind the screen. Who runs the company? Who stands by the values being advertised? Innovative brand strategies are recognising this need.
Steve Jobs is perhaps the defining example. The Apple brand is inextricably linked to its identity. His vision, charisma and obsession with simplicity shaped Apple’s DNA. Even long after his passing, the company’s product launches and brand language still echo his philosophy.
Mark Zuckerberg has taken a different route, often one that is more controversial. Yet Meta’s identity is tightly bound to him. His name appears in every pivot the company makes. From Facebook’s early college-based community to its current metaverse ambitions, Zuckerberg is not just the founder. He is the story.
Other examples are equally powerful. Richard Branson built Virgin around his boldness, risk-taking and playful irreverence. Elon Musk has become the narrative engine behind Tesla, X, Neuralink, and SpaceX. Whether one admires or questions his approach, there is no denying that his presence drives the attention and momentum of each brand.
Photo by Annie Spratt
Why it matters for companies
Personal branding is no longer optional for business leaders. It is a strategy in itself. In many sectors, people want a face they can trust more than a logo they can remember.
A 2023 study by Edelman showed that 63 per cent of global consumers are more likely to buy from a company whose leadership is visible and vocal. Another report by Sprout Social revealed that social media posts from employees and founders receive eight times more engagement than branded content. These numbers are not a coincidence. They reveal a more profound truth: we tend to relate to humans more easily than to institutions.
Companies are now hiring specialists in executive visibility. They build narratives for their founders. They prepare CEOs for thought leadership roles on platforms like LinkedIn, where authenticity often outperforms polish. This investment is now a crucial component of modern brand strategies.
In fashion, Telfar Clemens turned his name into a democratic and inclusive movement. The “Not for You For Everyone” philosophy has become a rallying cry for a new kind of consumer who rejects elitism. Clemens is not only a designer. He is a living manifesto for the brand.
Telfar Clemens – Photo: https://wwd.com
In the beauty industry, Glossier’s Emily Weiss built an empire on transparency and relatability. Her blog-turned-brand was born from her own experiences and voice. That personal tone is reflected in every product, every customer interaction, and every hiring decision.
Even large corporations are adapting. His evident personal leadership style has accompanied Microsoft’s resurgence under Satya Nadella. His interviews, speeches, and book, “Hit Refresh,” all positioned him not only as a CEO but also as a thoughtful human being trying to lead with empathy. These examples demonstrate how future-proof brand strategies are inextricably linked to the individuals who lead them.
Emily Weiss – Photo : TechCrunch
The rise of micro-personalities
Not all personal branding belongs to founders or CEOs. Today, employees at every level are expected to become brand ambassadors. Influential engineers at Google, stylists at Balmain, and sustainability experts at Patagonia. Each voice adds credibility and dimension to the parent brand.
Brand strategies now include internal empowerment. Employees are encouraged to share their work, voice their values and engage with the public. This is not just good PR. It makes the company feel accessible and multidimensional.
As Gen Z enters the workforce and consumer market, this trend is expected to intensify. This generation expects to see the people behind the scenes. They do not separate the product from the process, or the message from the messenger.
A mirror and a megaphone
Personal branding works because it blends the emotional with the relatable. It creates a story arc that the audience can follow. A product may change. A person evolves. We stay connected through the growth.
This shift also makes brand strategies more responsive to changing market conditions. A founder can communicate more effectively during a crisis than through a press release. An employee can highlight innovation more effectively than a glossy campaign.
Yet this trend requires care. The line between authentic and performative is thin. A visible leader must remain consistent and transparent in their actions. A personal brand cannot be outsourced. It must be lived.
When well-executed, personal branding not only elevates the individual but also enhances the company’s reputation. It builds a bridge between vision and value, between message and meaning. And in today’s economy, that connection is often the difference between noise and resonance.
Conclusion: When a Brand Finds Its Voice
From the bold product claims of the 1960s to the emotional storytelling of the 1990s and now the deeply personal voices shaping today’s landscape, brand strategies have never stood still. They evolve because people evolve. What we expect from companies has changed. What we tolerate has changed. And what we remember — that has changed the most.
A logo might be recognised, but a voice is remembered. A product might be purchased, but a belief is followed. That is the power of personal branding. It turns companies into characters, founders into storytellers, and customers into communities.
This shift is not a rejection of traditional brand strategies, but their natural next chapter. Consistency, clarity and positioning still matter. But today, they must be filtered through something human. That human might be the founder, the team or even the customer. What matters is that it feels real and that it reflects something bigger than the product.
For marketers, this is both an invitation and a challenge. It means rethinking how we present our work, not just through slogans and style guides, but through human stories, visible leadership and honest connection. It means remembering that in the end, people do not fall in love with companies. They fall in love with people who make them believe in themselves.
We used to say the product was king. Then, that emotion was queen. Perhaps now is the time to admit what drives the new era: the person behind the brand.
José Amorim The information in this article was researched and compiled exclusively for LuxuryActivist.com. All content is protected by copyright and may not be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted without prior written permission. Images are used solely for illustrative purposes. If you are the rightful owner of an image and don’t wish it to appear, please don’t hesitate to contact us, and we will promptly remove it.
There she is, embracing all the ups and downs of pregnancy and keeping it real. The former Bachelor girl was all glammed up and gave us the glow-up good vibes while discussing some of the not-so-glamorous aspects of pregnancy: melasma. The caption read, “Cover my pregnancy melasma please.. ✨🌴🌊,” while giving shoutouts to Allison Kaye Glam that made her feel so flawless.
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Gushing with glamour and beauty, the post attracted thousands of complementary comments in an instant. A fan wrote, “Beautiful as always Hannah!!! ❤️🥰,” while another remarked, “You’re beyond gorgeous, as is your sister! I watched you on the Bachelorette and just thought you were the sweetest person.” Then the explosion of love simply congratulated Hannah Ann for stepping into this new chapter.
There were witty conversations, actually the kind a pregnant woman would exchange. One commenter shared, “Girl: this Melasma is NO joke. I think we have the same (ish) due date ❤️❤️” Hannah Ann replied, “Yes it’s worse in the summer I bet!” Another came in with suggestions about needing a shirt that says something about the chaos that is life with many kids; Hannah Ann then spilled that it was a birthday gift from her fiancé, Jake.
There were demands from fans—makup tutorials included, which she pledged to deliver, followed by a baby name reveal vlog. “Will you do baby names we love but won’t be using?” queried one eager watcher. Hannah Ann responded, “Yes that’s a good idea!” Anther fan added: “Pregnancy vlogging from ultrasounds reactions to water broke pranking Jake.”
Then all the hilariously specific remarks started rolling in, with one chiming in with, “Can’t wait to make you breastmilk jewelry mama!” (Yes, that’s actually a thing.) Others talked about how inspiring her journey has been: “God truly does know your path before we do. Watching you grow on this journey called ‘life’ is inspiring.”
Beyond this makeup post, Hannah Ann was rallying for motherhood, realness, and all those tiny memories pregnancy is made of (even ones about melasma!). Between all the sweet messages, shared battles, and promises of more content, her followers are ready for this next chapter just as much as Hannah Ann herself.
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And really? Who isn’t? From makeup seshes to pregnancy updates, all the way through to the chaotic preparation for baby – it is her realness that holds every one of us in together. On to more glowing updates—melasma and all.
How do you bring L.A. to Paris Fashion Week? “Literally just drop a pin,” says strategist and consultant Stephanie Ramos. We’re at the Courtside X Akila picnic at Champ de Mars, an annual tradition that made it out of a group chat Ramos had started five years ago. Walking up to the park under the Eiffel Tower, hundreds of tourists from around the world blanket the grass, but it’s easy to spot the hundred or so people here for the picnic.
The West Coast energy reverberates like a satellite. It helps that most people are in Akila sunglasses for the occasion, but there is an intangible thing too — a mix of musicians, skaters, models and artists talking close, dapping each other up while drinking Champagne from the bottle, not too self-serious to pose for photos under the Eiffel Tower.
Five years ago during fashion week, friends were blowing up Ramos’ phone trying to find a way to link up. “It was driving me crazy, so I threw everyone on a group chat — 35 people,” Ramos says. That group chat was the genesis for Courtside, a collective of creatives from L.A., New York, Miami and beyond who now meet once a year when they’re in Paris for the men’s shows in June, and invite all of their friends to join. The picnic has become the stuff of PFW legend, a taste of home for L.A. people hustling through the week. There, you might see familiar faces like designer Corey Populus, the rising star of regional Mexican music DannyLux or legendary skater and restaurateur the Nuge.
“It’s funny, because everyone always says it’s tough to meet up in L.A. — you always have to preplan everything, there’s traffic,” Ramos says, “but when you’re in a city like Paris you’re going to make it a point to see each other.”
Describe your Paris Fashion Week:
“Mexican as f—, inspiring, wholesome and family-like. My friends are my family.” — Esperanza Rosas, a.k.a. Runsyyy, artist, Chicago
“Paris Fashion Week has been very motivating for me in every aspect. I see all these other artists from around the world, and it motivates me to keep going.” — DannyLux, musician, Palm Springs
“A dream.” — David Castaneda, stylist and designer, Inland Empire.
“Adventurous, silly, beautiful, random and connected.” — Zahara Davis, model and actor, New York.
Artist Esperanza Rosas, a.k.a. Runsyyy, left.
Zahara Davis, model and actor.
Stephanie Ramos, left, and Mallory Benson of Akila.
From left to right: Jonathan Gonzalez, Erik Martinez, DannyLux, Joel Silva and Emmanuel “Chino” Salazar.
How do you bring L.A. to Paris?
“We all love to eat good, drink good and skate. It could be Copenhagen, Paris, but we link every time.” — Don Nguyen, a.k.a. the Nuge, skater and owner of Burger She Wrote
“The way I bring L.A. to Paris is with my own personal style. I’m a heritage classic dude and I’ve had fits all week. And my Uncle Paulie’s hat. This is the L.A. hat to me.” — Sean B., private chef and curator, Beachwood Canyon
“L.A. has such a unique style, and Paris has a unique style too. I like when people come here and I can identify specifically who is from L.A. based on their style and how they carry themselves. L.A. is a little more slouchy.” — Chelsea Jordan, musician and content creator, Hollywood
Bricks & Wood founder, Kacey Lynch.
Vanessa Amaranto, co-founder of Art Community.
“For me, it’s seeing all of these people I know in a different scene. This is the most community I’ve seen. L.A. has that heart, but it’s so spread apart, so seeing everyone together has been really cute.” — Ashley Michelle Suarez, model and actor, West Hollywood
“Community, which is the most beautiful thing ever. Seeing all the familiar faces here is special. Community in L.A. runs deep.” — Mallory Benson, marketing at Akila, L.A.
“S—, me popping out by myself is bringing L.A. to Paris. I’ve been coming here for eight years now. Me and Spanto got close because there would never be anyone from L.A. here — it was just me, Spanto, Aleali [May], Corey [Populus], shout out my peoples. It’s really beautiful to be amongst my L.A. folks. Finally.” — Cheikh Tall, model and marketing director for Royal.2, L.A.
“It’s all about finding spaces for the community to feel familiarity. L.A.’s really big on community, and a big part of that is feeling comfortable. Being here in Paris we have enough people and brands that have made it feel comfortable enough for a first-timer like myself.” — Daven Fowler, fashion sales, Leimert Park
“L.A. brings a whole different energy to Paris. Especially the Chicano culture, it’s something Paris hasn’t seen before. We’re adding to the narrative.” — Carlos Jaramillo, photographer, Los Angeles
Stephanie Ramos, left, and Keyla Marquez, Image fashion director-at-large.
A high dividend yield can be tempting, but I always dig deeper before committing to any income stock. After all, if a company isn’t growing its payout over time, inflation can quietly eat away at returns. That’s why I place just as much weight on dividend growth and payout sustainability as I do on yield itself.
Aberdeen Asian Income Fund (LSE: AAIF) stands out on both fronts. It offers a chunky 7% yield, backed up by 16 years of continuous dividend increases and an average annual growth rate of 22%. Better still, its payout ratio of 67% suggests that the dividend is comfortably covered.
This puts it ahead of many other income-focused investment trusts. For example, the Value and Indexed Property Income Trust yields a solid 6.6% and boasts an even longer 19-year growth streak. But its 96% payout ratio and much slower 4.5% growth rate make me less confident about its future increases. Aberdeen Equity Income is another option, but in terms of both growth and yield, Asian Income looks more compelling.
So, what exactly does Aberdeen Asian Income invest in?
Asian market diversity
As the name suggests, it focuses on dividend-paying companies across Asia, with a well-diversified portfolio spanning Taiwan, China, India, South Korea, and Singapore. Top holdings include some of the region’s most established businesses, such as TSMC, DBS, Tencent,and Samsung. Management takes a quality-over-quantity approach, focusing on companies with strong balance sheets, reliable cash flow, and a long-term track record of shareholder returns.
While its share price has only climbed 21% over the past five years, the total return including dividends is 60.8% — well ahead of the MSCI Asia Pacific benchmark. It’s not a growth rocket, but as a steady income stock, it has delivered impressive results.
Valuation and costs
On a valuation basis, the trust looks reasonable, with a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 10.46 and a price-to-book (P/B) ratio of 0.89. Its financials are also reassuring: a 35% free cash flow margin, 8.8% return on capital employed (ROCE), and a strong balance sheet with £416m in assets versus just £38.9m in liabilities.
But investors should be aware of the discount and fees. The shares have consistently traded at 10% to 15% below net asset value (NAV) for the past year, which may reflect broader caution around Asian equities. The trust also carries a total fee burden of 1.6%, including a 0.75% annual management fee and a 0.85% ongoing charge. This can seriously nibble away at net returns over time.
Broader Asian market outlook
The fund’s future naturally relies on growth in the broader Asian market. In light of this, there are some encouraging signs, including easing tensions between the US and China and improving trade conditions.
However, geopolitical risk remains elevated. Any escalation in Taiwan or instability in the region could weigh on sentiment. Currency fluctuations and regulatory differences also add complexity.
My verdict? While Aberdeen Asian Income ticks a lot of boxes as a dividend yield play, I’m not convinced. It’s well-managed, diversified, and has a consistent track record of growth. But the high fees and uncertain outlook for Asian equities mean I’m not rushing in.
I think it’s worth a look for investors specifically seeking Asian market exposure — but for me, I think there are better income options closer to home.
Iran will have the capacity to begin enriching uranium again in “a matter of months”, the UN’s nuclear watchdog boss has said.
Rafael Grossi, who heads the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said that US strikes on three sites a week ago had caused “severe damage” but it was not “total”.
Mr Grossi told CBS News: “The capacities they have are there. They can have, you know, in a matter of months, I would say, a few cascades of centrifuges spinning and producing enriched uranium, or less than that.
“But as I said, frankly speaking, one cannot claim that everything has disappeared and there is nothing there.”
Iran still has “industrial and technological capabilities… so if they so wish, they will be able to start doing this again”, he added.
Image: A satellite overview shows excavators at tunnel entrances at the Fordow site in Iran. Pic: Maxar Technologies/Reuters
Iranian nuclear and military sites were attackedby Israel on 13 June, with the Israelis claiming Tehran was close to developing a nuclear weapon.
The US then carried out its own strikes on 22 June, hitting Iranian nuclear installations at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, under Operation Midnight Hammer.
Iran has insisted its nuclear research is for civilian energy production purposes.
US President Donald Trump said last weekend that the American deployment of 30,000lb “bunker-busting” bombs had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear programme.
But that claim appeared to be contradicted by an initial assessment from the US Defence Intelligence Agency.
A source said Iran’s enriched uranium stocks had not been eliminated, and the country’s nuclear programme, much of which is buried deep underground, may have been put back only a month or two.
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3:35
Did the US destroy Iran’s nuclear sites?
Mr Trump has rejected any suggestion that the damage to the sites was not as profound as he has said.
And he stated he would consider bombing Iran again if Tehran was enriching uranium to worrying levels.
At a news conference on Thursday alongside US defence secretary Pete Hegseth, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff General Dan Caine, told reporters the GBU-57 bunker buster bombs had been designed in some secrecy with exactly this sort of target in mind.
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2:46
US: Iran nuclear sites ‘obliterated’
The head of the CIA has also said a “body of credible intelligence” indicates Iran’s nuclear programme was “severely damaged”.
Director John Ratcliffe revealed that information from a “historically reliable and accurate source” suggests several key sites were destroyed – and will take years to rebuild.
Meanwhile, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said his country “slapped America in the face” by launching an attack on 23 June against a major US base in Qatar, adding the nation would never surrender.
The 12-day air conflict between Israel and Iran ended with a US-brokered ceasefire.
But the Iranian armed forces chief of staff, General Abdolrahim Mousavi, has said his country doubts Israel will maintain the truce.
A spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry said the US strikes had caused significant damage to Tehran’s nuclear facilities.
Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, arrives for an IAEA meeting in Vienna, Austria, on June 23.
Christian Bruna/Getty Images Europe
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Christian Bruna/Getty Images Europe
The head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog says Iran could begin enriching uranium again within months following an attack by the U.S. military on three of its facilities earlier in June.
Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the U.N. office that inspects countries’ nuclear programs to ensure compliance with nonproliferation agreements,made the comments in an interview recorded Friday and aired on Sunday byCBS’s Face the Nation.
“They can have, you know, in a matter of months, I would say, a few cascades of centrifuges spinning and producing enriched uranium, or less than that,” he said.
Grossi said he believed the facilities that were hit by U.S. bombs suffered severe but not total damage, and added that Iran had other means of achieving its nuclear goals.
“Iran had a very vast ambitious program, and part of it may still be there, and if not, there is also the self-evident truth that the knowledge is there. The industrial capacity is there. Iran is a very sophisticated country in terms of nuclear technology, as is obvious,” he said.
President Trump said shortly after the strikes that the U.S. had “totally obliterated” Iran’s three main nuclear facilities, and other administration officials have echoed a similar assessment of the mission’s success.
But a preliminary report by the Defense Intelligence Agency suggested Iran’s nuclear facilities may have only suffered “limited” damage, setting back the nuclear program by months.
On Thursday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that report was a “preliminary, low-confidence report that will continue to be refined” and called the U.S. operation a “a “historically successful attack.”
Grossi told CBS that it was possible Iran could have moved canisters of enriched uranium before the attack to a secret offsite location. The IAEA previously reported that Iran had a stockpile of over 400 kilograms — or nearly 900 pounds — of highly enriched uranium.
But President Trump reiterated in an interview aired on Fox News Sunday morning that he believes that wasn’t the case. “First of all, it’s very hard to do. It’s very dangerous to do. It’s very heavy, very very heavy,” Trump said.
Trump said he believed the attacks also caught Iran by surprise — particularly the strike on its underground Fordo facility. “And nobody thought we’d go after that site, because everybody said, ‘that site is impenetrable.'”
Grossi said it was important for the IAEA and Iran to resume discussions, and for international inspectors to be able to continue their work in the country. “We have to go back to the table and have a technically sound solution to this,” he said.
BONNY DOON, Calif. — Lee Calvert’s new bedroom glowed with the dappled sunlight of a late-spring afternoon. Just outside her window, she could see hot-pink rhododendron flowers and the stately redwoods of the Santa Cruz Mountains.
Despite the beauty, it was a view — and a life — she was still adjusting to.
Calvert is 100 years old. She’d spent the last six decades in a little house in Pacific Palisades with an ocean view.
She lived alone in Tahitian Terrace, a hillside mobile home park where, until January, she had occupied the same rented plot on Samoa Way since around 1967. And she kept busy — practicing table tennis in the park’s poolside clubhouse, hosting meals on her patio overlooking Will Rogers State Beach, giving speeches about physical fitness at the Pacific Palisades Woman’s and Optimist clubs.
“I loved everything about the Palisades,” Calvert said. Despite her family’s gentle pleas to join them here in Santa Cruz County as she got older, she would say: “I’m not leaving paradise.”
“Of course,” she said, “my intention was to stay there until I’m gone.”
But the universe had other plans. Five months after her 100th birthday, the Palisades fire tore through Tahitian Terrace, destroying her double-wide trailer and 156 other homes in the park.
Lee Calvert climbs the stairs in her daughter’s home in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
Calvert hugs a friend after playing ping pong at the London Nelson Community Center in Santa Cruz, Calif.
Calvert walks with her daughter, Nancy Lingemann, on Lingemann’s property in Bonny Doon.
Now, Calvert is working to rebuild the full, active life she led before the fire — age be damned.
She goes swing dancing on the Santa Cruz Wharf. She takes vigorous hikes in Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park. She is learning pottery. And she plays pingpong at the senior center a few times a week.
“I don’t want to feel sorry for myself,” Calvert said.
Calvert stands about 5 foot 1, has smile lines around her big blue eyes and keeps her strawberry-blond bob neatly curled. The winner of senior badminton and table tennis competitions around the world, she is, at her core, an athlete — competitive, confident and, perhaps, a bit headstrong.
On a warm, late May afternoon, she showed off the upstairs apartment her daughter and son-in-law fixed up for her on their wooded property in rural Bonny Doon: The fuzzy white mat where she does 15 push-ups every day. The makeup-strewn vanity table where, she said, “I make myself gorgeous.”
“It’s quite a change for me, going from an ocean view to the redwoods,” she said. “But I’m making the adjustment. Which proves to me that you can be 100 years old and change if you have to.”
The Palisades fire on Jan. 7, 2025, destroyed all but one of the 158 mobile and prefabricated homes in Tahitian Terrace in Pacific Palisades.
(Zoë Meyers / AFP via Getty Images)
Change came on Jan. 7.
That morning, Calvert was at home with her part-time caregiver, who helped her around the house during the day. Just after 10:30 a.m. came a call from her daughter-in-law, Cheryl Calvert.
Cheryl — who is married to the son of Lee’s late second husband — has lived in Malibu for some 40 years. She knew high winds were in the forecast, which meant possible power shutoffs and fire. She was driving to pick up extra dog food and was near Pepperdine University when, to the east, she spotted “the tiniest, tiniest piece of smoke.”
She dialed Calvert, who answered with a chipper: “Oh, hi, honey! Are you coming for lunch?”
Cheryl did not mention the smoke. Or the newly reported fire popping up on her FireWatch app. She asked Calvert to gather a few things — a jacket, some jeans, her cellphone — but the centenarian kept chatting cheerfully.
Lee Calvert chats with her granddaughter, Reyna Lingemann, in Bonny Doon, Calif., in May.
Cheryl, 68, knew that if she tried to get Calvert herself, she might hit road closures and gridlock and not make it in time. And she figured that if she told Calvert there was a fire, she might panic — and not want to quickly leave her beloved Tahitian Terrace, where there is only one steep, narrow road out.
So, Cheryl fibbed. She said she would meet Calvert in Santa Monica for lunch — even though she was headed back to her own home, which she worried might burn.
Grab your things, she pleaded, and have your caregiver drive you. Calvert was in no hurry.
Cheryl said she started yelling: “Lee, you are leaving! Get out now!”
“I thought, ‘This is a crazy request. But Cheryl is such a good friend,’” Calvert said. “I said, ‘But! But! But!’ And she said: ‘Do it, Lee.’ She had a firmness in her voice. I said, ‘OK.’”
Lee Calvert, pictured in an undated photo in her home in Tahitian Terrace in Pacific Palisades. (Courtesy of Nancy Lingemann)
Lee Calvert stands in the living room of her daughter’s home in Bonny Doon, Calif., in May 27.
Calvert moved to Tahitian Terrace around 1967. She was in her early 40s and newly divorced.
She and her ex-husband had lived in a three-bedroom house on Erskine Drive with their son and daughter, who had attended the then-newly built Palisades High School.
But after the divorce, money got tight. She rented out the house and paid $5,000 for what would become her new home — a “darling little mobile home,” sold by a family friend in nearby Tahitian Terrace.
Carved into the hillside above Pacific Coast Highway, Tahitian Terrace had opened in 1962 amid a post-World War II boom in mobile home parks. Residents owned their houses and rented tiny, ocean-view plots for as little as $200 a month — a jaw-dropping bargain, even then.
The park’s founder, Robert E. Westenhaver, scoffed at the phrase “trailer park” and “had high ideals” about the importance of community, Calvert said.
“He’d say, ‘There’s nothing mobile about it. These are homes,’ ” she said. “I liked that.”
Tahitian Terrace had Hawaiian dance lessons and art classes. Residents would give presentations about their work or hobbies. And there was a community room with free coffee — good coffee, Calvert specified — and a sense of camaraderie.
It was as good a landing spot as any for a woman who had spent her whole life hustling.
Her family had been plunged into poverty after the 1929 stock market crash. She was 5 years old at the time. They lived in the Mission District in San Francisco, and her father lost his job hand-painting the striping on Cadillac cars. The family moved to Los Angeles, hoping he could find work.
Unable to afford rent during the Great Depression, they bounced from home to home.
A painting of a young Lee Calvert in her daughter’s home.
During a stint in Studio City, “Mother had some rabbits she would kill for our suppers and cook over an open fire [and] she had my brother go behind the local market and try to rescue some vegetables that were thrown out at the end of the day,” Calvert wrote in a six-page autobiography. “I knew we were in trouble and always hungry. I got sick — no sanitation.”
She and her younger sister attended free acting and dance classes taught by out-of-work artists through the federal Works Progress Administration. As a teenager, she landed theater acting gigs, making $60 a week — more than her father.
And after the U.S. entered World War II, she volunteered as a USO girl, dancing with young soldiers on the Santa Monica Pier, she said, “before they went overseas to God knows what.”
“When I was young,” she said, “ I was not exactly ugly.”
Calvert, who is learning pottery, holds one of the vases she is making for people who helped her after the fire.
Calvert makes pottery with her daughter, Nancy Lingemann, and son-in-law, John Lingemann, on May 27, 2025, in Bonny Doon, Calif.
Between shows and dances, she wrote letters to her older brother, Gene M. Hirsch, a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Forces who had always looked out for her and kept her laughing during their difficult upbringing.
On Sept. 11, 1942, Hirsch, age 24, and nine other soldiers stationed at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base near Tuscon were in a B-24 Liberator on the return leg of a training flight to Nebraska. Amid bad weather, their plane crashed into a mountain in eastern Arizona. All of them died.
Calvert kept the letters from her brother — which she still pulled out to read, just to feel close to him — in a lockbox in her closet.
Portraits of 100-year-old Lee Calvert hang among family photos on the walls of her daughter’s home.
Just after Calvert moved to Tahitian Terrace, the park’s owner asked most of the residents to temporarily move their trailers during the construction of the adjacent Temescal Canyon Road.
The Times reported in 1968 that Palisades residents regarded Temescal as “an escape route which will allow them to get into the community if landslides block the coast highway.”
Calvert — who would become Tahitian Terrace’s longest-term resident — pleaded for special permission to stay, despite the near-constant construction noise.
She worked from home and had her own business, creating TV and movie continuity scripts, which meticulously detail dialogue, sound effects, music and scene descriptions in the order they appear on screen.
The work required silence and concentration. So she flipped her schedule.
“I slept during the day, when I could,” Calvert said. “It was a lot of noise and scraping machinery. So I worked at night. I had to rescue the business, because otherwise I wasn’t going to make it.”
Photos of Lee Calvert hang on the walls of her daughter’s home.
Calvert did make it, though, and kept working until she was 88. Among the shows for which she did continuity scripts: “The Lucy Show,” “Laverne & Shirley,” “Cheers,” “Star Trek,” “The Good Wife” and “NCIS.”
In 1968, she married again, this time to Larry Calvert — a World War II veteran and aeronautical engineer. He was a fellow badminton player who encouraged her to travel the world competing in the sport, for which she earned more than 200 medals and induction into the USA Badminton Hall of Fame.
They built a happy life together at Tahitian Terrace for 31 years. Larry died in 1999.
In August 2024, Calvert turned 100. Neighbors and her family threw two big parties at Tahitian Terrace, where the clubhouse was decorated in her favorite color, royal blue.
She wore figure-flattering dresses that showed off her toned legs. She danced the tango with her son-in-law, John Lingemann, who joked that she was “a hundred-year-old hottie.” And she did 15 push-ups while her friends and neighbors cheered.
On Jan. 7, Lee and her caregiver calmly drove out of Tahitian Terrace just before 11 a.m., headed to lunch in Santa Monica. Pacific Coast Highway had yet to become gridlocked with people fleeing the fast-moving flames.
Cheryl knew she wasn’t going to join them. She feared her own home in Malibu was in danger. So she asked a friend from Van Nuys to meet the women at the now-closed Earth, Wind and Flour Italian restaurant.
“Just have lunch,” Cheryl asked her friend. “Talk about nothing. Just be — happy.”
The women had a pleasant meal, chatting about Calvert’s badminton days. Calvert’s daughter, Nancy Lingemann, booked her a hotel by the ocean in Santa Monica.
The view from the cleared home site of 100-year-old Lee Calvert.
“Getting her out of the Palisades — that was the greatest triumph of my life,” Cheryl said.
Flames entered Tahitian Terrace by 4:30 p.m. Within two hours, the complex was gone.
Three weeks after the fire, Cheryl pleaded with a National Guard soldier to let her past the barricades into Pacific Palisades. She parked at an empty Vons off Sunset Boulevard, walked a mile and a half along the closed Pacific Coast Highway — past military trucks and police cars — and up the hill to Tahitian Terrace.
She found Calvert’s lockbox. Everything in it — including letters from her brother and husband — had burned.
“I told her, ‘They’re in your memory. You’ll never forget,’” Cheryl said, her voice cracking.
Cheryl told her: “Lee, you’re an optimist. And optimists always look ahead.”
Calvert now lives with her daughter and son-in-law in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The hillside property has lots of stairs. Calvert says they will keep her in shape.
Calvert has not been back to Tahitian Terrace. She doesn’t know when, or if, she will ever be ready.
It is unclear if the mobile home park will be rebuilt. It has long been owned by a small, family-run company that makes little profit off its rent-controlled plots. In a March letter to residents, the park’s owners wrote that if Tahitian Terrace is rebuilt, the process “could take many years.”
Soon after the fire, Calvert moved in with her daughter, Nancy, 78, and son-in-law, John, 81.
They live so deep in the redwood forest that, for years, they have hung paper plates with hand-drawn arrows to fence posts to assure guests they’re still on the right path.
Calvert, walking with her son-in-law, John Lingemann, is now surrounded by her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, as well as new friends, in rural Bonny Doon, Calif.
Theirs is a hilly 29-acre property, filled with vegetable gardens, citrus and avocado trees and the flowers Nancy grows for her business making wedding floral arrangements.
Calvert, who had a few falls in recent years, climbs the hills in orthopedic tennis shoes. She uses a cane at her daughter’s urging. And sometimes leaves it behind on purpose.
“I’m more careful now,” Calvert said, grinning. “I’ve never known anything about being careful. But I have learned.”
For Mother’s Day, Nancy surprised her with a large framed portrait of her brother, Gene, in his military uniform. Calvert thought all her photos had burned — but Nancy had made digital copies before the 100th birthday party.
It sits on the vanity table in her new apartment next to Nancy and John’s house. Across the room hang several medals. The Huntsman World Senior Games — upon learning many of her badminton and table tennis medals burned — sent several replacements.
“I could be devastated, losing so much,” Calvert said on a recent afternoon. “I mean, I lost treasures that I wanted to give to my great-grandchildren. I wanted to give them little things I had that I thought were important.”
Nancy gently interjected, putting her arm around her: “But you know, Mom, those things are not that important. They love you for who you are.”
“Well, they’ll just have to do that, won’t they?” she said, laughing. “I don’t have a choice anymore.”
Calvert plays doubles ping pong with Melody Luan at the London Nelson Community Center in Santa Cruz on May 28, 2025.
On a recent Wednesday afternoon, Calvert posted up at a pingpong table at the London Nelson Community Center in downtown Santa Cruz for a game of senior doubles.
“I don’t want you to take it easy,” she told Perry Brown, her competitor across the table. “I can only keep up my game if I push myself.”
Calvert, a lefty, had a steely-eyed game face, grinning only when she scored a point or stopped an opponent’s serve.
Afterward, Brown, a 62-year-old retired contractor with muscled arms and a tank top, told her she played well and that he had been surprised to learn her age.
Calvert jokingly flirted.
“I could take him home, but they won’t let me,” she deadpanned. “People would talk.”
Lee Calvert and her daughter, Nancy Lingemann, take a walk through Lingemann’s wooded property in rural Bonny Doon, Calif.
Calvert was rushing with Nancy to a great-granddaughter’s elementary school graduation. But she promised she would be back for more pingpong. Improving her game — and keeping busy — is giving her reasons to look ahead in this life after the fire.
“I think that’s a secret to a good life: You have to adapt to whatever happens,” she said. “Doesn’t mean you’re always going to like it. But you can try to like it. You get through those things — and you look for the next good thing.”
Lakers superstar LeBron James will once again make NBA history by playing in his 23rd NBA season.
James exercised his player option for $52.6 million to play for the Lakers during the 2025-26 season, his agent and CEO of Klutch Sports Rich Paul told The Times on Sunday morning.
James, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, had been tied with Vince Carter for the most seasons played in the NBA at 22. This will be James’ eighth season with the Lakers.
James, 40, is 50 games away from breaking Hall of Famer Robert Parish’s record for the most games played in the regular season.
James averaged 24.4 points per game last season, 8.2 assists and 7.8 rebounds.
Fellow Laker Dorian Finney-Smith reportedly declined his $15.3-million player option and will pursue free agency, a person with knowledge of his decision told The Times. Finney-Smith, who is coming off a strong season with the Lakers, is expected to be pursued by multiple teams. He could still return to the Lakers. ESPN was first to report Finney-Smith’s decision.
Last week, Austin Reaves declined the team’s maximum offer of four years for $89 million, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.
Reaves, 27, still has two years left on his deal, for $13.9 million next season and $14.9 million in the 2026-27 season, and he holds a player option for the last year of his deal.
Lakers forward LeBron James (23) and teammate Austin Reaves react to a referee’s call during a 2025 NBA playoff game against Minnesota.
(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
He was third on the Lakers in scoring last season, averaging career-highs in scoring (20.2), assists (5.8), rebounds (4.5) and minutes per game (34.9). He shot 46% from the field and 37.7% from three-point range.
With the James and Smith player option questions resolved Sunday, the Lakers are focused on filling out their roster. They added an athletic wing player when they acquired Adou Thiero in a trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves, who drafted him with the 36th pick in the second round.
The most pressing need for the Lakers remains a center, and they’ll have to look into free agency or via trade to acquire one.
The Lakers have the taxpayer mid-level exception of about $5.65 million to spend.
“As I said at the end of the year, we know one of the things we have to address is the center position and that’s clearly going to be one of our focuses as we begin the free-agency period,” Rob Pelinka, the Lakers’ president of basketball operations, told Spectrum SportsNet after the second round of the draft Thursday. “… “So, we’re looking forward to just putting in the hard work and making sure we take care of all the needs on the roster to give [Lakers coach] JJ [Redick] the tools he needs for this team to be great next season.”
