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Alejandra Jaramillo

Updated 1 hr 50 min ago

Updated Jun 4, 2026, 6:09 PM ET

PUBLISHED Jun 4, 2026, 6:04 PM ET

Donald Trump

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Work continues on the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, Thursday, June 4, 2026, as seen from the Washington Monument in Washington.

Stephanie Scarbrough/AP

Summary

• President Donald Trump announced a new promenade will be built to connect the Lincoln Memorial to the Potomac River.
• He said the promenade would restore the memorial’s original intended design before roadways cut off access.
• Trump also touted progress on his nearby Reflecting Pool renovation.

AI-generated summary was reviewed by a CNN editor.

President Donald Trump said Thursday that a new walkway will be built connecting the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, to the Potomac River.

“We’re going to call it the promenade,” he told reporters in the Oval Office.

“They want to call it the Trump Promenade,” the president said. “But I don’t know if I want to do that. But it’s going to be beautiful.”

Trump said the project would revive what he described as the memorial’s original intended design.

“The Lincoln Memorial — the front was supposed to be the back. The back was supposed to be the front. It never got built, because they built two roadways behind it after it was built, and it shut off the gateway to the water,” he said.

“That was really going to be the main entry, and we’re going to be doing that,” the president said, adding that “we have a way of beautifully going over those two roads.”

Asked for additional details, the White House referred CNN to Trump’s comments.

The announcement is just the latest of Trump’s efforts to renovate Washington, DC. He’s pushing forward with a controversial overhaul of the Reflecting Pool, which he also touted in the Oval Office on Thursday.

“The water is pouring in as we speak, and maybe we’ll show what it looks like,” Trump said, directing attention to a laptop on his desk that played footage of the water.

“Nice, clean water,” he added. “That’s the longest pool anywhere in the world.”

For the second consecutive day, he also displayed a large chart titled “Our Pool is Bigger than Skyscrapers” that he used to compare the length of the Reflecting Pool to the heights of iconic buildings, including New York’s Empire State Building.

Trump’s attempts to put his imprint on the nation’s capital suffered a blow on Thursday, however, when the Kennedy Center instructed staff to begin removing his name from the performing arts center to comply with a recent court order.

泽连斯基5月25日到访国家军事纪念公墓，向一名阵亡乌克兰士兵的墓碑献花。 （法新社）

乌克兰总统泽连斯基罕见向俄罗斯总统普京发出公开信，提议与普京举行面对面会晤。美国总统特朗普称乐见“普泽会”，并表示双方会“做出妥协”。

综合法新社和彭博社报道，泽连斯基星期四（6月4日）在公开信中写道：“乌克兰已做好准备，在谈判期间全面停火。我们乌克兰人不希望战争持续下去。我们非常清楚，没有战争的日子无比美好。我们希望实现这一点。”

泽连斯基提议与普京会面，并确定会晤日期。不过，他拒绝在莫斯科会晤，强调会晤应在第三国举行。他列举瑞士、土耳其或阿拉伯国家，作为可能的备选方案。

泽连斯基已多次呼吁普京和他会面，称只有面对面会谈才能就乌克兰领土问题达成协议。

在泽连斯基向普京发出公开信的前一天，乌克兰无人机袭击了普京的家乡圣彼得堡。圣彼得堡正在举办一场重要的国际经济论坛。

特朗普一直敦促冲俄乌结束战争，还曾夸口说他重返白宫一天之内就能结束这场战争。

克里姆林宫发言人佩斯科夫星期四说，普京尚未看到泽连斯基的信，但泽连斯基可以“随时”到莫斯科与普京会面。然而泽连斯基已在信中率先否决这一提议。

Sun erupts with 3 huge solar flares, increasing chances of northern lights across U.S.

June 4, 2026 1:28 PM EDT / CBS News

By Emily Mae Czachor News Editor
Emily Mae Czachor is a reporter and news editor at CBSNews.com. She typically covers breaking news, extreme weather and climate. Emily Mae previously wrote for outlets like the Los Angeles Times, BuzzFeed and Newsweek.

Read Full Bio

Three solar flares burst from the sun toward Earth this week, scientists said, and the enormous beams of energy, light and high-speed particles may increase the odds of seeing the northern lights for people across the United States as they travel closer to our planet.

Solar flares are giant eruptions of electromagnetic radiation, including X-rays and ultraviolet light, which launch into space off the sun’s surface, according to NASA. The explosions are often associated with solar magnetic storms, also known as coronal mass ejections, and they can significantly disrupt technology on Earth if pointed in its direction.

The trio of flares that left the sun a couple of days ago were each expelled from the star at slightly different angles, all within a 24-hour period, according to the National Weather Service’s Space Weather Prediction Center. The center predicts that the three of them will catch up to one another and combine before reaching Earth.

“There is a fair level of confidence about an Earth arrival,” it said in an advisory.

However, it noted that the intensity of the flares, and the extent to which they could impact Earth, remained uncertain. Scientists measure the strength of geomagnetic storms on a scale of 1 to 5, ranking from “minor” to “extreme.” This one is expected to fall somewhere in the middle, with forecasters suggesting it will be either “strong” or “severe.”

NASA said the powerful solar flare peaked just before 7:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday. It published an image of the fiery event, which shows the flare as a bright flash of light against the sun’s darker silhouette. The space agency said this flare was classified as “X1.0,” with X-class used to describe the largest and most intense flares.

NASA captured this photo of a solar flare, which appears in the image as a bright flash of light, on June 3, 2026. NASA/SDO

Solar flares and geomagnetic storms are capable of impacting telecommunications and satellite systems on Earth, potentially meddling with radios, electric power grids and navigation systems, NASA has warned. They also may damage spacecraft and pose possible safety threats to astronauts.

Flares may also give way to spectacular displays of the aurora borealis, or northern lights, for people in the U.S. on Thursday and Friday. Northern lights are linked to geomagnetic storms, and strong storms have in the past produced northern lights well below the latitudes where they can normally be seen. In May 2024, one record storm caused northern lights as far south as Mexico.

Dozen GOP rebels fail to permanently kill Trump’s controversial $2B fund

June 4, 2026 2:30pm EDT / Fox News

The amendment’s failure comes after Acting AG Todd Blanche vowed the administration would no longer pursue the anti-weaponization fund

By Alex Miller

Trump administration not moving forward with ‘anti-weaponization’ fund

‘All-star’ panelists discuss the decision made on the ‘anti-weaponization’ fund on ‘Special Report’.

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Senate Republicans rallied against permanently killing President Donald Trump’s nearly $2 billion “anti-weaponization” fund despite heavy criticism among their ranks.

Republicans and Democrats shut down an amendment from Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., that would prevent the fund from ever returning and instead divert the funding to the nation’s fraud fund. Though Senate Democrats despise the “anti-weaponization” fund, diverting the money was a bridge too far for nearly the entire caucus.

A dozen Republicans voted for the amendment, however, signaling a broad distaste for the fund and any future plans the administration may have for it.

The amendment’s failure could put to bed the growing push to codify a permanent end to the fund and comes after hours of delays at the onset of the Senate’s marathon voting spree to pass the GOP’s nearly $70 billion immigration enforcement package.

BOTH PARTIES TARGET TRUMP’S $2B FUND AS ICE FUNDING PACKAGE ENTERS DANGER ZONE

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., told his colleagues that he would not support the upcoming budget reconciliation package if it included $1 billion for President Donald Trump’s ballroom.(Andrew Harnik/Getty Images; Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The fund, announced last month as part of a settlement between the Trump family and the Internal Revenue Service, received strong pushback from Republicans who feared that without proper guardrails, people convicted of assaulting police officers during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot on Capitol Hill could access the taxpayer funds.

Still, Republicans who were already incensed over the issue weren’t sold on Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s vow that the administration would no longer pursue the fund.

Though Blanche said the administration wasn’t looking to move forward with the fund, Trump struck a different tone in the Oval Office on Wednesday when asked about the fate of the fund, telling reporters, “I’d have to ask the lawyers. I don’t know.”

GOP ADVANCES ICE FUNDING PACKAGE AFTER FORCING TRUMP’S CONTROVERSIAL $2B FUND INTO RETREAT

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6397459411112

“The weaponization fund, as far as I’m concerned, was a beautiful thing,” Trump said. “I love it. I think it’s so important.”

Tillis said that while he heard Trump’s comments that were “to the contrary” of Blanche’s, he argued that if the administration truly wanted to end the fund, “Why not use this moment to codify that?”

“Otherwise, you’re exposing every one of our members who are in cycle to having to deal with this between today and Election Day,” Tillis said. “And that makes no sense for something that the White House says they’re not moving forward, or the DOJ says they’re not moving forward.”

REPUBLICANS RECOIL AS TRUMP’S BILLION-DOLLAR DOJ ‘SLUSH FUND’ FOR ALLIES THREATENS ICE, BORDER PATROL PLAN

Chairman Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., speaks during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing on Capitol Hill on Feb. 25, 2026, in Washington, D.C.(Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Tillis’ amendment likely won’t be the last from the GOP. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., who on Thursday signed on to an amicus brief with Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., blasting the fund, also has an amendment to ensure it won’t return from the grave.

But Republicans who still disagreed with the fund argued that there was nothing in the underlying bill related to it, and that it should be an issue dealt with later on should Trump and the administration try to revive it.

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“People say, ‘But, oh, Trump may someday again do the weaponization fund from his remarks yesterday,’” Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said. “Well, then address it if he tries to do it, if it’s unpopular. People can address it when it happens.”

Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.

AOC-backed Dem connected to Twin Towers bombing terrorist faces congressional pressure after primary win

June 4, 2026 1:02pm EDT / Fox News

Adam Hisham Hamawy served as a defense witness for Omar Abdel-Rahman and volunteered with a group tied to bin Laden’s network

By Charles Creitz, Fox News

New Jersey Democratic congressional nominee Dr. Adam Hamawy is under scrutiny for his ties to convicted terrorist Omar Abdel-Rahman, known as the ‘Blind Sheikh.’ Hamawy testified as a defense witness in Abdel-Rahman’s 1995 World Trade Center bombing trial. Critics are questioning his past associations as he prepares for the general election in a deep-blue district.

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FIRST ON FOX: A top Republican confirmed he will seek a “full investigation” of a likely Democratic colleague whose ties to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing mastermind roiled the 2026 midterm landscape after New Jersey’s Tuesday primaries.

Dr. Adam Hisham Hamawy is a veteran combat plastic surgeon who operates his own practice near Princeton but has been heavily criticized for his ties to and service as a defense witness for terrorist Omar Abdel-Rahman — better known as the “Blind Sheikh” — who later died in a North Carolina federal prison.

Rep. Michael Lawler, R-N.Y., chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Middle East Subcommittee, expressed his concerns about Hamawy serving in Congress and later confirmed to Fox News Digital that he will indeed seek a probe of the controversial progressive.

Hamawy won a 12-way Democratic primary Tuesday for a Central Jersey seat that has not elected a Republican this century — and now faces perennial candidate Prof. Gregg Mele in November.

LONE REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE FINDS HIS EDGE AS A DOZEN DEMOCRATS CLASH IN RACE TO REPLACE MIKIE SHERRILL

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Lawler told Fox News Digital that Hamawy’s resume is more than disqualifying for someone whose day job would give him access to the nation’s most sensitive national security information.

“Adam Hamawy was a defense witness for Omar Abdel-Rahman, the Blind Sheikh behind the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, and a year earlier volunteered in Bosnia with an organization the U.S. Treasury designated a financier of terrorism and the 9/11 Commission tied to Osama bin Laden’s network,” Lawler said.

“He has never answered for any of it.”

Lawler questioned Hamawy’s “fit[ness] to serve” in Congress and to be privy to the same information he is on the Foreign Affairs panel.

“If he’s elected in November, I’ll push for a full investigation because the American people deserve the truth.”

Lawler notably represents Rockland County, N.Y. — an area just north of New York City with a sizable Orthodox Jewish population — and has been a steadfast defender of Israel and the Jewish people against threats from Iran and Hezbollah.

DEM FREE-FOR-ALL ENGULFS NJ AS 13 CONTENDERS SCRAMBLE FOR SHERRILL’S HOUSE SEAT AHEAD OF CRITICAL 2026 FIGHT

Hamawy previously volunteered at a Gaza hospital amid the conflict.

Lawler’s district recently hosted President Donald Trump’s rally featuring New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart — and his visibility on counterterrorism and Israel issues was brought to the fore when Sen. Rand Paul’s, R-Ky., son drunkenly confronted Lawler at a Washington bar and “accused” him of being Jewish during a diatribe about Israel.

The “Trenton Makes” Bridge carries Old U.S. 1 into New Jersey and the 12th district.(Ron Antonelli/Getty Images)

Neighboring Congressman Josh Gottheimer, a Democrat from North Jersey, didn’t directly call for a probe but told Jewish Insider that he has “serious questions and deep concerns” about Hamawy’s “associations with terrorist organization and leaders who have attacked America.”

Like Lawler, Gottheimer said Hamawy must answer for these connections to the people of the Garden State.

Abdel-Rahman’s team called Hamawy as a witness, where he described traveling to Detroit for a conference at which the extremist cleric would appear.

Hamawy testified Abdel-Rahman regularly spoke of “jihad” and that at one point the Sheikh questioned Emad Salem — who later became a government informant — as to why Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak had not yet been assassinated.

Hamawy has blamed Islamophobia for some of the invective directed his way — and pushed back on similar characterizations, including from one of his own Democratic primary challengers, Plainfield Mayor Adrian Mapp.

“Any Muslim is going to be called a terrorist at some point, and these tropes are outdated and worn,” he told the New Jersey Monitor in response to Mapp.

Hamawy’s campaign previously told Fox News Digital that he was in the military when the events covered Abdel-Rahman’s trial took place, and pointed to allies like Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., who credited the surgeon with saving her life on the battlefield.

The prosecutor who led the U.S. government’s case against Abdel-Rahman, however, noted how Hamawy appeared voluntarily to defend the Blind Sheikh.

“He didn’t have to come unless he wanted to,” former U.S. Attorney Andrew McCarthy told “The Story” on Wednesday.

Dr. Adam Hisham Hamawy, left; Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., right.(Islam Dogru/Getty Images; Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

“It wasn’t like I subpoenaed him. It wasn’t like the government brought him in as a hostile witness. He volunteered to testify for this guy. He knew exactly who he was. And in fact, on cross-examination, his testimony that he didn’t recall a conversation about Mubarak was not very persuasive,” McCarthy said, referring to the cleric’s trip to Detroit.

Hamawy also greeted Abdel-Rahman from the stand with the Muslim greeting of Salaam Alaykum, suggesting personal familiarity, according to several critics.

When pressed by reporters earlier in the primary, Hamawy argued that Abdel-Rahman was a spiritual leader in the state’s Muslim community and “wasn’t preaching death and destruction all the time” while adding that he himself abhors all violence.

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Hamawy and Abdel-Rahman first met at a middle school forum in Matawan, New Jersey, in 1991, according to the former’s testimony in court.

The candidate did not respond to Fox News’ latest request for comment.

Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital.

He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant.

Charles covers media, politics and culture for Fox News Digital.

Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to charles.creitz@fox.com.

Dow soars nearly 900 points as Wall Street bets on Iran peace deal

June 4, 2026 3:01 PM EDT / CBS News

The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared deeper into record terrain on Thursday as investors pinned their hopes on a peace deal in Iran.

The blue-chip index surged 877 points in afternoon trading, or 1.7%, to 51,564. The broader S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite Index saw more modest gains, rising 0.5% and 0.2%, respectively.

Stocks have notched a succession of record highs in recent weeks, with Wall Street investors betting that the U.S. and Iran are nearing an agreement to end the war.

Those expectations have kept a lid on global oil prices despite spasms of violence, including an attack this week by Iran on Kuwait’s airport and U.S. strikes on an Iranian island near the Strait of Hormuz.

“Middle East-linked news flow was net positive as the U.S. and Iran continue negotiating, while Israel and Lebanon agree to a ceasefire,” equity analyst Adam Crisafulli of VitalKnowledge told clients in a research note.

Despite those signs of progress, Crisafulli also said that “time is very much of the essence” as global oil inventories fall to what he called “dangerously low levels.”

Prices of Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell to $94.43 a barrel after jumping earlier this week amid renewed violence in the Middle East. The U.S. benchmark dipped to $92.18.

Most investors expect the U.S. and Iran to reach a deal this month that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz to oil tankers, according to Wall Street analysts.

A deal to end the conflict is by no means assured. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Wednesday that “no tangible progress” has been made in negotiations to end the war.

Not all sectors participated in the rally. Investors pared holdings of artificial intelligence stocks amid concerns that the sector’s extended rally is bound to slow down.

Edited by Aimee Picchi

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

英法据悉敲定战后霍尔木兹海峡扫雷计划 15国承诺支持

2026年6月5日 00:00 / 联合早报

6月3日，从阿曼穆桑达姆港所见的滞留霍尔木兹海峡的船只。 （路透社）

据知情人士透露，英国和法国已敲定计划，准备在美国和伊朗就重开霍尔木兹海峡达成协议后的数日内，牵头在这一水道展开一项多国扫雷任务。

本周稍早，美国与伊朗在波斯湾发生冲突。在各方艰难推动达成一项临时协议、以恢复战前海上交通水平之际，这条全球最关键的贸易通道之一的航运仍几乎陷于停摆。

彭博社引述五名知情人士说，多国军事规划人员就参与清除霍尔木兹海峡水雷的行动进入深入筹备阶段。这些水雷先前由伊朗伊斯兰革命卫队布设。

其中三名知情人士称，这项扫雷任务将涉及由15个国家组成的联盟，这些国家已承诺提供军事人员和装备。他们补充说，这些国家可能会在任务启动数周后加入行动，为商业船只提供安全保障。尽管规划工作基本完成，但有关方面仍在寻求补充一些设备，尤其是支援船只。

知情人士指出，在美国与伊朗达成协议、恢复完整且不受阻碍的商业航行权，并为军事资产在海峡内活动提供可接受环境之前，相关部署不会启动。由于涉及尚未公开的敏感行动事项，这些知情人士要求匿名。

知情人士称，这项由英国和法国牵头的任务将就行动事务与德黑兰开通沟通渠道。知情人士补充说，尽管伊朗已表示希望自行清除霍尔木兹海峡的水雷，但英国和法国认为伊朗不具备完成这项任务的能力，因此更倾向于自行主导扫雷行动。

The U.S. is minting more millionaires than ever. Here’s why.

June 4, 2026 3:16 PM EDT / CBS News

By

The U.S. minted 736,000 new millionaires last year, bringing the total number of Americans with such wealth to a record 8.7 million, according to a new report.

Millionaire wealth is measured by investable assets, excluding individuals’ primary residences, collectibles, consumables and consumer durable goods, consulting firm Capgemini said in its World Wealth Report 2026, released Thursday. The number of U.S. millionaires is the highest since Capgemini started tracking wealth trends three decades ago, the company told CBS News.

The stock market was a primary driver of the surge in new millionaires, with the S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index rising about 18% and 21% last year, respectively. Wealthy Americans also increased their equity allocations last year by about 5 percentage points, from 22% to 27% of their portfolios, boosting their wealth, Capgemini said.

The jump in the number of millionaires also underscores a widening divide in the U.S. between low- and high-income households as many Americans struggle to afford the cost of living. Households earning below $50,000 a year are increasingly gloomy, while those with incomes above $100,000 are showing greater confidence, according to Apollo chief economist Torsten Slok.

“This divergence is likely driven by lower-income households worrying about rising gas prices, while higher-income households are focusing on rising stock prices,” Slok wrote in a May 6 blog post.

When your stock portfolio and 401(k) are surging — with the S&P 500 index up 10.6% so far in 2026 — it’s easier to feel good about your finances. Yet roughly half of Americans lack access to a retirement plan, leaving them to grapple with high gas prices and elevated inflation without the buffer of rising investment wealth.

Who is the typical U.S. millionaire?

While Capgemini didn’t collect demographic data on U.S. millionaires, other research offers insight into wealthy Americans.

The typical newly minted millionaire is a Gen Xer or baby boomer with much of their wealth tied up in retirement investments, according to financial services group Empower. Americans typically cross the millionaire threshold in their 50s or 60s, with 60-somethings holding average retirement assets of $1.2 million, the group said in a report.

Millionaires also share a few behavioral traits, Empower found. For one, 95% own their own home, compared with about 66% of the overall U.S. population.

Although Capgemini excluded primary residences from their analysis, previous research shows a strong link between homeownership and wealth. Homeowners had an average net worth of $1.5 million in 2022, compared with $154,000 for renters, according to the most recent Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances.

Still, becoming a millionaire may not carry the same cachet as it did a decade or two ago, when it was considered the mark of wealth. Today, Americans believe they need to have an average of $5.3 million in wealth to be considered “financially successful,” Empower found.

Edited by Alain Sherter

SEE IT: Lavish $35M mansion bought by tech CEO accused of feeding US gear to Iran’s nuclear machine

2026-06-04 14:42:07 EDT / Fox News

Jamshid Ghomi allegedly supplied networking equipment to Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization while reporting income under $21K

By Elaine Mallon Fox News

Published June 4, 2026 2:42pm EDT

Dan Hoffman on tech CEO accused of sending secret shipments to Iran

Former CIA station chief Dan Hoffman weighs in on the alleged decade-long scheme where tech CEO Jamshid Ghomi sold U.S. computer networking parts to Iran. Hoffman emphasizes the counter-intelligence success by the FBI in exposing the tech scheme. He discusses the potential damage to U.S. national security and Iran’s ability to augment its nuclear program with U.S. technology.

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A dual U.S.-Iranian citizen accused of helping Iran’s military and nuclear program obtain sensitive American technology used millions of dollars in illicit proceeds from the scheme to fund the construction of his Newport Beach mansion, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.

Jamshid Ghomi, 63, an Iranian-American businessman who lives in Newport Coast, California, was charged with conspiracy to violate U.S. sanctions laws by supplying export-restricted American networking, security and encryption equipment to customers in Iran, including entities tied to the country’s military and nuclear enrichment programs.

“As alleged, Ghomi enriched himself by supplying U.S. technology to the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran and other sanctioned entities responsible for Iran’s nuclear program,” Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said in a statement.

The arrest comes amid a broader federal crackdown on Iranian procurement networks and intelligence operations. In recent years, federal authorities have charged multiple Iranian nationals and operatives accused of obtaining U.S. technology for military purposes and acting on behalf of the Iranian government.

US SANCTIONS MONEY LAUNDERING NETWORK AIDING IRAN AS REGIME FACES NUCLEAR REPRIMAND AT IAEA

Ghomi’s $35 million mansion, reportedly financed in part with proceeds from the illicit sale of American technology to the Iranian government.(Justice Department)

Ghomi is the founder and CEO of Faraz Pardaz Rayaneh Co. Ltd. (FPR), a Tehran-based technology company that, according to court documents, spent more than a decade acquiring sophisticated U.S. equipment and funneling it to Iranian government entities through intermediaries in the United Arab Emirates.

Investigators say the alleged sanctions-evasion scheme generated millions of dollars for Ghomi, who then took steps to disguise the money’s origin before moving it into the United States.

He laundered proceeds from his Iran-based business through a network of offshore companies and exchange houses located in the British Virgin Islands, Hong Kong, Turkey and the UAE, according to the complaint.

Prosecutors contend that over a 13-year period, more than $15 million tied to Ghomi’s Iran-based business flowed into American financial accounts, including accounts used to finance construction of his Newport Coast residence.

Authorities say many of the transfers contained false descriptions such as “Buying Goods” and “For Consulting Fees.” Prosecutors further allege Ghomi falsely reported the incoming funds to the IRS as a foreign inheritance while reporting little income on his federal tax returns.

‘NEPO BABIES OF IRAN’S REGIME’ EXPOSES LAVISH LIVES OF IRANIAN LEADERS’ CHILDREN LIVING IN THE WEST

Jamshid Ghomi is accused by federal prosecutors of helping Iranian military and nuclear-linked entities obtain sensitive U.S. technology and using proceeds from the scheme to fund the construction of his Newport Beach mansion.(DOJ District of California)

Court documents show his highest reported annual income was approximately $20,684. Authorities also say he claimed the Earned Income Tax Credit, a tax benefit intended for low- and moderate-income workers, in multiple tax years.

Meanwhile, investigators say Ghomi was building and residing in a 14,000-square-foot Newport Coast mansion valued at roughly $35 million. Ghomi purchased a vacant lot in 2010 for roughly $4.5 million and spent more than $10 million constructing the residence. Federal authorities allege more than $7 million in foreign-source wire transfers linked to the sanctions-evasion scheme flowed into escrow accounts used to finance his mansion construction.

“Ghomi is accused of aiding our declared enemies by selling U.S.-origin computer networking parts to Iran and earning millions of dollars in violation of U.S. sanction laws,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said. “Our nation’s laws prohibiting doing business with one of the world’s largest state sponsors of terrorism must be enforced and obeyed.”

Investigators allege FPR supplied American-made networking, security and encryption products to some of the Iranian regime’s most sensitive organizations, including the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), the Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics, Iran Computer Industries and other military-affiliated entities.

An aerial shot of the mansion belonging to Ghomi. Federal prosecutors allege that it was financed in part with proceeds from a scheme to illegally export U.S. technology to Iran.(Justice Department)

According to prosecutors, FPR supplied U.S.-origin networking equipment to the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) from 2017 through 2023. The agency oversees Iran’s nuclear program, including uranium enrichment and centrifuge operations, and was sanctioned by the U.S. State Department in 2020.

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Ghomi is also accused of supplying more than 250 metric tons of networking and computer equipment to Iran between 2014 and 2018 alone. Prosecutors say he made hundreds of purchases of restricted American technology and knowingly violated U.S. sanctions while taking deliberate steps to conceal the operation.

Investigators say Ghomi worked to ensure shipments were routed through UAE-based front companies to conceal their true destination and instructed associates to keep his name off invoices and shipping documents.

If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison.

Elaine Mallon is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business covering national politics.

Meta is selling $3.99 monthly subscriptions for Instagram Plus. Here’s what you get.

2026-06-04 3:27 PM EDT / CBS News

By Megan Cerullo Reporter, MoneyWatch
Megan Cerullo is a New York-based reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering small business, workplace, health care, consumer spending and personal finance topics. She regularly appears on CBS News 24/7 to discuss her reporting.

Read Full Bio

Meta is rolling out an Instagram subscription service for $3.99 a month, called Instagram Plus, which adds features such as “stories” that last for 48 hours, double the amount of time for nonpaying users.

The new service is aimed at helping Meta diversify its revenue base, which is heavily dependent on advertising. The photo-sharing app will continue to be available for free, and nothing will change for nonpaying users, Instagram said in a Thursday post.

“The Instagram you know and love today isn’t changing — this subscription is simply an optional upgrade for people who want more,” the company said.

What do you get for $3.99 a month?

Paid subscribers who post stories — images or videos that aren’t permanent and can be seen for just 24 hours — can make them last for 48 hours.

Subscribers to Instagram Plus can also create multiple audience lists to share certain content with specific groups of people. Meta says such upgrades help social media users maintain closer contact with followers.

The paid service also includes new audience metrics for paid users. For example, they can see how many times their stories were rewatched, which could indicate how compelling the content was to their followers.

Paid users can also quickly search to see if a specific viewer watched their story.

Custom app icon, fonts

Instagram Plus gives the app’s users the ability to choose a custom app icon, versus just the standard tile. The paid tier also lets users choose different fonts when writing their bios, and post content to their profiles without it automatically appearing in friends’ feeds, Meta said.

Instagram’s parent company added that it will be bringing new features to Instagram Plus in the coming months.

Meta’s AI agents for businesses

Meta on Wednesday also launched AI agents for businesses, called the Meta Business Agent, which work across its apps, including WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram, to recommend products, answer customers’ questions, and carry out other tasks autonomously.

The move comes as agentic AI, the successor to generative AI, becomes more attractive to businesses, which see it as a potential replacement for labor costs. Consumers are also adopting the tech to outsource administrative tasks.

The new products are being rolled at as Meta continues to overhaul its business to focus on AI. Meta in April disclosed plans to lay off roughly 8,000 employees, or 10% of its workforce, to cut costs as it invests more money in artificial intelligence.

Edited by Aimee Picchi