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Shares dip in Asia, oil up as world awaits Iran response

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By Wayne Cole

SYDNEY (Reuters) -Wall Street share futures slipped on Monday and oil prices briefly hit five-month highs as investors anxiously waited to see if Iran would retaliate to U.S. attacks on its nuclear sites, with resulting risks to global activity and inflation.

Early moves were contained, with the dollar getting only a minor safe-haven bid and no sign of panic selling across markets. Oil prices were up around 2%, but already well off their initial peaks.

Optimists were hoping Iran might back down now its nuclear ambitions had been curtailed, or even that regime change might bring a less hostile government to power there.

Analysts at JPMorgan, however, cautioned that past episodes of regime change in the region typically resulted in oil prices spiking by as much as 76% and averaging a 30% rise over time.

Key will be access through the Strait of Hormuz, which is only about 33 km (21 miles) wide at its narrowest point and sees around 20% of the world’s daily oil consumption.

“With the U.S. becoming involved, the risk of Iran retaliating by disrupting the flows of oil from the Middle East has risen significantly,” warned analysts at ANZ. “Prices in the $90–95/bbl range would be the likely outcome.”

For now, Brent was up a relatively restrained 1.9% at $78.46 a barrel, while U.S. crude rose 2% to $75.30. Elsewhere in commodity markets, gold edged up 0.2% to $3,375 an ounce. [GOL/]

Share markets were proving resilient so far, with S&P 500 futures off 0.3% and Nasdaq futures down 0.5%, having both started with losses near 1%.

Nikkei futures were just a fraction lower at 38,380, pointing to a small opening fall for the cash index.

The dollar edged up 0.2% on the Japanese yen to 146.36 yen, while the euro dipped 0.3% to $1.1485. The dollar index firmed 0.25% to 99.008.

There was also no sign of a rush to the traditional safety of Treasuries, with futures up only 1 tick.

Futures for Federal Reserve interest rates were a tick lower, likely reflecting concerns a sustained rise in oil prices would add to inflationary pressures at a time when tariffs were just being felt in U.S. prices.

Markets are still pricing a slim chance the Fed will cut at its next meeting on July 30, even after Fed Governor Christopher Waller broke ranks and argued for a July easing.

Most other Fed members, including Chair Jerome Powell, have been more cautious on policy leading markets to wager a cut is far more likely in September.

At least 15 Fed officials are speaking this week, and Powell faces two days of questions from lawmakers, which is certain to cover the potential impact of President Donald Trump’s tariffs and the attack on Iran.

Tesla launches robotaxi rides in Austin with big promises and unanswered questions

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Tesla has started giving rides in driverless Model Y SUVs in Austin, a decade after CEO Elon Musk began making — and breaking — myriad promises about his company’s ability to launch such a service. 

The rollout will become the first big test of Musk’s belief that it’s possible to safely deploy fully autonomous vehicles using just cameras and end-to-end AI – an approach that differs from other players in the space like Waymo. 

On Sunday, numerous videos shared on social media as well as sources in the city, confirmed what Musk has been teasing for months: that the rides are finally happening, at a surely coincidental flat fee of $4.20 per ride.

Tesla sent early-access invitations in the past week to vetted customers, who were able to download and use the new robotaxi app on Sunday to hail rides. It’s unclear how many people have received this invitation. But posts on Musk’s social media platform X show that many of them went to Tesla’s loudest online supporters.

The invitations, along with a new robotaxi information page published on Tesla’s website on June 22, confirm the service will operate every day from 6:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m but “may be limited or unavailable in the event of inclement weather.” And, notably, a Tesla employee will be sitting in the right front passenger seat as a “safety monitor.” 

The robotaxi information page also includes instructions on downloading the app, how to report a lost item, and general rules for riders. It still glosses over the kind of specifics that Waymo — the Alphabet-owned AV company that operates commercial robotaxis in Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Austin — has historically provided. 

The robotaxi service will be small to start, according to Musk. The initial fleet will be about 10 or so 2025 Model Y SUVs operating in a narrowly defined area of South Austin. That’s in line with a first-hand account by Ed Niedermeyer, author of “Ludicrous, The Unvarnished Story of Tesla Motors,” who is in Austin to monitor the robotaxi rollout. (Niedermeyer is a co-host of The Autonocast with TechCrunch editor Kirsten Korosec.)

Neidermeyer found what appears to be a Tesla robotaxi depot — a nondescript parking lot dotted with trees near Oltorf Street in South Austin. The day before the launch, he spotted several driverless Model Ys — always with an employee behind the steering wheel — entering and exiting the parking lot. Groups of other Tesla Model Y vehicles, most with manufacturer plates, were also parked there. 

This morning, he spotted the branded Tesla Model Y robotaxis, this time with the employee in the front passenger seat, leaving the holding area. He observed one of the branded robotaxis, which had not yet picked up a rider, suddenly hitting its brakes two separate times — once in the middle of an intersection. It’s unclear why the vehicle behaved that way. However, in a video, which TechCrunch has viewed and has since been posted on YouTube, both instances occurred as the Tesla passed by police vehicles that were located in parking lots adjacent to the roadway.

Information gaps

Leading up to the launch, Musk shared dribs and drabs about the Tesla robotaxi launch in a few interviews and posts on X. Even now, nearly all of the information about the robotaxi launch has been provided by the company’s biggest supporters. 

In fact, Tesla has actively tried to suppress information about the robotaxi service. Tesla tried to block TechCrunch’s public records request with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). The company has also tried to block the city of Austin from fulfilling a records request by Reuters, according to the news service. 

“Tesla seeks to be as transparent as possible, however, as explained further below, some of the requested information cannot be released because it is confidential information, trade secrets, and/or business information exchanged with the TxDOT in conjunction with conducting business with TxDOT,” Taylor White, senior counsel on infrastructure for Tesla, wrote in a letter to the Texas Attorney General’s office in April.

One of the more interesting rollout strategies is the company’s use of a human “safety monitor.” 

It’s unclear what role these safety monitors will play and how much, if any control, they will have. These employees are likely not meant to try and intervene if the software is about to do something wrong. But they may have access to some sort of kill switch that can stop the car if that does happen.

Historically, autonomous vehicle companies like Waymo and former Cruise tested their respective self-driving technology by having a human safety operator behind the wheel and a second engineer in the front passenger seat. Eventually, that might be reduced to one person sitting in the passenger seat before removing them altogether. This practice was traditionally done during the testing phase — not commercial operations. 

Tesla is not using the futuristic vehicles, dubbed Cybercabs, that were revealed on October 10, 2024. Instead, the 2025 Tesla Model Y vehicles are equipped with what Musk describes as a new, “unsupervised” version of Tesla’s Full Self-Driving software. 

Tesla will not be using its in-cabin camera during rides by default. The company says it will only be used if a rider requests support or in the case of an emergency. It will use the camera after a ride ends to “confirm Robotaxi’s readiness for its next trip.” 

Tesla is encouraging early access riders to take photos and video of their experiences, although it says it “may suspend or terminate Robotaxi access” if riders violate its rules, including if they “disseminate content on a social media platform or similar medium depicting a violation of these Rules or misuse of the Robotaxi.” (That includes riders agreeing not to smoke, vape, drink alcohol, do drugs, or use the robotaxi in connection with a crime.) 

Musk and other Tesla executives praised the milestone on X, with Ashok Elluswamy, the head of the company’s self-driving team, posting a photo of the “Robotaxi launch party” from an undisclosed location.

“Super congratulations to the @Tesla_AI  software & chip design teams on a successful @Robotaxi launch!! Culmination of a decade of hard work,” Musk wrote.

But at least one rider on Sunday reported having an experience where Tesla’s remote support team had to help in some way. It’s not immediately clear what happened during that ride, but that same rider later said the ride was very smooth.

2025 NBA Finals: Thunder guard Jalen Williams leads Game 7 arrivals

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It’s the two best words in sports — Game 7 — and the respective stars of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers dressed accordingly.

The first winner-take-all NBA Finals game since 2016 brought a variety of fits led by Thunder guard Jalen Williams. He rocked ripped denim jeans with a furry yellow shoulder bag draped on his shoulder that almost touched his knees. Williams completed the look with a vintage black suede Rick Owens kicks.

A handful of Williams’ teammates wore all-black for the final game of the series, including Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, Luguentz Dort and Isaiah Hartenstein.

For Indiana, Tyrese Haliburton led the way with a Pacers-themed leather jacket and yellow Louis Vuitton duffel bag.

Here are the top fits from Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals.



11 Volume-Boosting Hair Products for Summer

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How to add volume to your hair

Volumnious hair starts in the shower. Opt for a volumizing shampoo or conditioner that will leave your hair extra bouncy like the duo we found from Nick Stenson Beauty. 

For maximum volume, you’ll want to apply a texture mousse or volumizing foam, like the one we found from The Doux designed for curly hair girlies, to damp hair. 

Because you want volume and not frizzy hair, don’t forget to use a styling cream that  prior to reaching for the hot tools.

Then, you can go in with a heated round brush to create a bouncy blowout that has volume and body from root to tip.

As a finishing touch, apply a root lifting spray or texture spray for an instant volume boost. Particularly ideal for those with have thin or fine hair, the texture spray we found is significantly cheaper than the $52 luxury one people have been raving about for years.

No matter your hair type, help your hair reach new heights with this summer with these volume-boosting hair products.

Hopes to open NHS ketamine clinic for treatment resistant depression

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Hayley Jarvis

BBC Scotland News

Could ketamine help treat severe depression?

Ketamine is increasingly known as a party drug which is linked to serious health problems, even fatalities.

But there is growing interest in Scotland in its potential to treat severe depression.

One NHS Lothian psychiatrist hopes to set up a clinic by the end of the year offering the Category B drug as an alternative to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), a treatment that involves sending an electric current through the brain.

Prof Andrew McIntosh thinks it could offer another alternative to patients with the most hard-to-treat depression.

A photo of the inside of the Eulas clinic. It shows a consulting room. At the centre is a leather reclining chair. It is a sparsely furnished room with a green wall and a potted plant.

The private Eulas clinic in Hamilton opened under licence from Healthcare Improvement Scotland in September

The move comes after a private clinic in Lanarkshire began offering ketamine assisted therapy to clients with treatment-resistant depression last summer.

The Eulas clinic in Hamilton opened under licence from Healthcare Improvement Scotland in September and charges £6,000 for a programme of four intravenous ketamine infusions and a course of psychotherapy.

Ketamine is a medical anaesthetic and while it is not licensed for the routine treatment for depression, it can be used ‘off-label’ by doctors and psychiatrists.

Alex, who recently moved to Scotland from the United States, is one of 12 people being treated at the clinic.

She has experienced periods of depression and anxiety and says she turned to ketamine assisted therapy when traditional treatments didn’t help.

“I was crying all day long while I was working, and was very resistant to doing anything new,” the 40-year-old said.

A photo of Alex looking directly at the camera. She has long brown hair. She is wearing a grey woollen jumper. The blurred background is a settee with patterned cushions

Alex believes the infusions made her more receptive to psychotherapy

Ketamine, which is illegal on the streets, has nevertheless been used as a recreational drug for years because of its detached, dream-like effects.

“I definitely had a psychedelic experience,” Alex said.

“You would see images, kind of feel like you’re floating sometimes.

“If you’re reclined, you might feel like you’re floating into different spaces for example. Or like you’re going down a waterslide.”

Alex believes the infusions made her more receptive to psychotherapy.

“I think it makes it more palatable almost,” she says.

“You may see an image and you’ll remember this image and then you’ll talk to your therapist and they’ll say: ‘That’s interesting, why do you think you saw that? What does that represent to you?”

Alex had already tried ketamine therapy in the United States before being treated in Scotland and thinks it should be more widely available here.

“Before, I was really depressed,” she said

“Now I feel like I’m doing pretty well. I am active, I am trying new things, traveling again, kind of getting back to the person I felt like I used to be.”

A photo of Sean Gillen looking directly at the camera. He has a shaven head and wears an open-necked shirt

Sean Gillen says patients must have a diagnosed condition

Sean Gillen, the director of the Eulas clinic, says patients must have a diagnosed condition and be assessed by a psychiatrist to qualify for treatment.

He admits the cost of ketamine assisted therapy may be out of reach for many and hopes it will soon be available on the NHS.

“You’re dealing with psychiatrists, anaesthetists, psychotherapists – these are real professional people and they need to be paid,” he said.

“Most people don’t have that kind of money and that’s why we’d like to enter a partnership with the NHS.”

Ketamine is licensed as an anaesthetic but has hit the headlines for its recreational use.

It can cause serious and sometimes permanent damage to the bladder, alongside a range of other complications if misused.

It was linked to the death of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK star The Vivienne earlier this year.

And a coroner found Friends actor Matthew Perry died of the ‘acute effects of ketamine’ in 2023.

Esketamine, a form of ketamine taken as a nasal spray, has been approved for the treatment for moderate to severe treatment-resistant depression in Scotland but intravenous ketamine has not, though it can be prescribed ‘off-label’.

The Royal College of Psychiatrists has previously urged caution over the use of ketamine therapy but it is due to publish a new report on psychedelics later this year, with updated information on ketamine.

Prof McIntosh looks directly at the camera. He has short brown hair and wears a pink open-necked shirt under a blue suit jacket

Prof Andrew McIntosh hopes to set up a ketamine clinic at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital

Andrew McIntosh, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Edinburgh and an NHS psychiatrist, hopes to set up a ketamine clinic at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital by the end of the year.

It would be offered to patients with the most hard-to-treat depression, as an alternative to ECT.

He said: “Even after taking multiple antidepressants and multiple different treatments, there’s a small number of people who don’t respond very well to any of those treatments, so ketamine gives them additional hope and it’s been shown to be effective.

“And it’s an extra thing we could be doing to help our patients that is not currently available widely in Scotland.”

Prof McIntosh said it is not clear exactly how ketamine works to treat depression.

He said: “Some people think it’s because the brain becomes more plastic, more able to adapt.

“Some people think it’s because it alters the connections between different parts of the brain.

“I think it’s fair to say we don’t fully understand how all the pieces of the jigsaw fit together and why it’s effective, although we know it’s very effective.”

He said the ketamine used to treat depression is very different to what people might take illegally.

“The ketamine that’s given in clinical services is going to be a very pure form of the drug,” he said.

“It’s going to be given under very controlled circumstances, and we are going to know that it’s only the drug that’s in the preparation, it’s not the other things that are sometimes taken by people who use it recreationally.

“The dose of the drug that is given for depression is also far, far lower than people use recreationally, so we think the risks of that are much, much lower than they are when it’s taken in the community.”

Dr Ross looks at the camera. She is outside with a background of greenery.

Dr Anna Ross is interested in the potential for ketamine to treat depression

NHS Lothian said it was considering the use of intravenous ketamine as an alternative to ECT, but no decision had been made.

Tracey Gillies, executive medical director at NHS Lothian, said recent international studies suggested that the use of IV ketamine may be a cost-effective alternative to ECT.

She said the introduction of any new service had to be carefully considered, with patient safety and cost factors among those to be managed.

Dr Anna Ross, a lecturer in health and social policy at the University of Edinburgh and co-founder of Scottish Psychedelic Research Group, has carried out research with the Eulas clinic.

She is interested in the potential for ketamine to treat depression and addiction problems but believes psilocybin, a Category A drug found in so-called magic mushrooms, could be more effective.

She said: “I’ve been involved in drugs policy and drugs using communities now for about 20 years, and ketamine in and of itself has not been a substance I’ve known to be a positive substance as such, but it’s really come to the fore in the UK because we don’t have access to psilocybin.

“So therefore clinics like the Eulas clinic and NHS facilities are starting to look at ketamine because it already has a scheduling and it can already be used for psychedelic therapy.”

A Scottish government spokesman said: “Decisions on whether to prescribe a medicine are a matter for the prescribing clinician based on individual patient need and in consultation with the patient, informed by advice and guidance about the medicine.”

Iran's 'proportionate response' to US strike will be set by military, envoy tells UN

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Amir-Saeid Iravani, Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, condemned the United States’s involvement in its conflict with Israel and said the nation’s military would determine its response after President Trump on Saturday ordered the bombing of three of Iran’s nuclear sites.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran has repeatedly warned the warmongering U.S. regime to refrain from stumbling into this quagmire, even though Iran reserves its full and legitimate right under international law to defend itself against this blatant U.S. aggression and its Israeli proxy,” he said at the United Nations. “The timing, nature and the scale of Iran’s proportionate response will be decided by its armed forces.”

The United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting on the escalating war on Sunday afternoon. Iran, the U.S. and Israel were among the nations that spoke about the attack during the meeting.

Iravani described the action as the U.S. helping Israel carry out its “vile agenda.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked Trump on Saturday for directing U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.

“President Trump and I often say, ‘Peace through strength.’ First comes strength, then comes peace. And tonight, President Trump and the United States acted with a lot of strength,” Netanyahu said in a video on the social platform X.

Iravani said the Israeli prime minister had hijacked “U.S. foreign policy, dragging the United States into yet another costly, baseless war.”

Dorothy Shea, the interim U.S. ambassador to the U.N., spoke ahead of Iravani and defended Trump’s actions.

“Iran has long obfuscated its nuclear weapons program and stonewalled good-faith efforts in recent negotiations … the time finally came for the United States in the defense of its ally and in the defense of our own citizens and interest, to act decisively,” she said in explaining Saturday’s bombing.

Shea told the council that Iran for decades “has been responsible for misery and countless deaths across the Middle East. Iran’s government and its proxies have also killed numerous Americans, including American service members in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

She accused Iranian officials of ramping up “hostile bluster and rhetoric” over recent weeks.

Stock Futures Open Lower After U.S. Strike on Iran

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Stock Futures Open Lower After U.S. Strike on Iran

OpenAI and Jony Ive’s ‘IO’ brand has vanished, but their AI hardware deal remains

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OpenAI has scrubbed mentions of io, the hardware startup co-founded by famous Apple designer Jony Ive, from its website and social media channels. The sudden change closely follows their recent announcement of OpenAI’s nearly $6.5 billion acquisition and plans to create dedicated AI hardware.

OpenAI tells The Verge the deal is still happening, but it scrubbed mentions due to a trademark lawsuit from Iyo, the hearing device startup spun out of Google’s moonshot factory.

The announcement blog post and a nine-minute video featuring Ive and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman are no longer available. The blog post from Ive and Altman announcing the deal said, “The io team, focused on developing products that inspire, empower and enable, will now merge with OpenAI to work more intimately with the research, engineering and product teams in San Francisco.”

OpenAI spokesperson Kayla Wood:

This page is temporarily down due to a court order following a trademark complaint from iyO about our use of the name ‘io.’ We don’t agree with the complaint and are reviewing our options.

Source: Paul Pogba to join Monaco on two-year deal

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Jun 22, 2025, 02:27 PM ET

Former Manchester United and Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba will sign with Ligue 1 side AS Monaco, a source told ESPN.

Pogba has verbally agreed to a two-year contract with the French club after turning down a major deal from a Saudi Pro League side, according to the source.

In February 2024, Pogba was handed a four-year suspension after he tested positive for DHEA, a banned substance.

In October, it was reduced to 18 months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport after an appeal. That ban came to an end in March.

Pogba later revealed to ESPN that he considered retiring after initially being handed a four-year ban.

“Yeah, I had many thoughts in my head, I had so many thoughts to even stop playing,” he said in October 2024.

“I’m like: ‘What am I going to do?’ If it’s four years, you start making the maths in your head. … Four years not playing, training — which club is going to want me? Would I be fit and stuff like that, you make a lot of pictures in your head.

“But on the other side, I had faith obviously, and I was positive. I knew I didn’t do anything wrong on purpose, so then thankfully that happened and they reduce it.”

Pogba’s last game was a 29-minute cameo for Juventus in September 2023. The last time he played a full 90 minutes was with Manchester United in March 2022.

Information from ESPN’s Julien Laurens contributed to this report.

Anna Camp Defends Her and Girlfriend Jade Whipkey’s 18-Year Age Gap

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Anna Camp
Anna Camp is not letting the haters cause treble between her and Jade Whipkey.
Two days after the Pitch Perfect actress debuted her relationship with the on-set stylist at the Los Angeles premiere…

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