AAP Rolling News Bulletin for June 12 at 2130
SpaceX (NEW YORK CITY)
SpaceX is set to begin trading on Nasdaq after investors poured $US75 billion ($A106 billion) into the world's biggest IPO ever, betting that Elon Musk's lofty space, communications and AI ambitions can justify a $US1.77 trillion valuation.
The landmark listing cemented Musk's status as the first trillionaire and propelled SpaceX into the ranks of the world's most valuable companies - even though the firm posted a loss of nearly $US5 billion in 2025 and generated only a fraction of the revenue brought in by similarly valued tech giants.
The stock's performance will be a test for the so-called "Musk premium", which has been the force behind Tesla's $US1 trillion-plus valuation.
It will also be closely watched for signals on investor appetite before IPOs for AI heavyweights Anthropic and OpenAI.
Legal: Tito (MELBOURNE)
The mother of a man who gunned down gangland figure Gavin Preston has called her killer son respectful, caring and kind as prosecutors pushed for him to be jailed for life.
Jaeden Tito's mother Levi took the unusual step of reading her character reference aloud in the Victorian Supreme Court on Friday as her son faced a pre-sentence hearing.
Tito, 25, and his co-offender Rabii Zahabe, 26, were in May found guilty of murdering Preston, 50, in Melbourne's northwest on September 9, 2023.
Footage played to the jury showed Preston and his friend Abbas Maghnie seated outside Sweet Lulus cafe in Keilor when two men dressed in black jumped out of a car and fired shots.
Preston was fatally struck while Mr Maghnie was also hit but survived, with Tito and Zahabe also convicted of his attempted murder.
Legal: Koletti (SYDNEY)
An exclusive interview with a woman claiming to have been shoved by the husband of deceased fraudster Melissa Caddick has turned into a headache for one journalist.
Hair stylist Anthony Koletti is accused of shoulder-barging 73-year-old Julie Brandon and knocking her to the ground at a cliff-side reserve in Vaucluse in Sydney's prestigious eastern suburbs in July 2025.
In September of that year, Ms Brandon arrived home from dog training to find Daily Mail reporter Candace Sutton waiting to interview her.
"She caught me off guard," Ms Brandon told Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court on Friday.
"I chatted to her, I probably shouldn't have."
Koletti, 44, was in court as he fights a charge of common assault in relation to the incident.
SpaceX Aust (SYDNEY)
Australia's biggest retail brokerage is keeping its call centre open overnight as tens of thousands of investors wait to see their allocation for the world's biggest-ever initial public offering.
Elon Musk's SpaceX will go public on the US Nasdaq exchange on Saturday morning, Australia time, after raising $US75 billion ($A106 billion) to advance Elon Musk's grandiose vision of making human life multi-planetary.
Commonwealth Bank's CommSec share-trading platform said its contact centre would be open overnight Friday until 6am, and then again from 9am to 5pm on Saturday to respond to queries related to the IPO.
Reuters reported on Wednesday the float was nearly four times oversubscribed, meaning that would-be investors would likely have their allocations scaled back and offered refunds.
Legal: James (SYDNEY)
Sleepless nights, overwhelming guilt and a fear-driven urge to hurl dire warnings at parents putting their kids in out-of-school care.
That is the heart-wrenching result of David William James' child abuse as described by the mother of one of his victims.
The 27-year-old took explicit photos and videos of children younger than 10 while working at six out-of-school centres in Sydney's north and city centre between April 2021 and May 2024.
Australian Federal Police tracked James down in June 2024 after linking him to child abuse material on the dark web.
He pleaded guilty in December to 11 charges related to the production and possession of child abuse material, including doing a sexual act with children to produce child sex abuse material.
Federal (CANBERRA)
One Nation's public fundraising campaign is a "smokescreen" for the money coming in from billionaire donors, a Labor powerbroker says.
The Pauline Hanson-led party is claiming to have raised more than $3 million from almost 50,000 donors to its anti-Labor "fire the liar" campaign.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and other Labor figures have cast doubt on the legitimacy of the fundraising drive, prompting Senator Hanson to share an "independent audit" document authored by a software engineer to her social media page.
Former federal treasurer Wayne Swan labelled One Nation the "billionaire's party", highlighting its links to Australia's richest person Gina Rinehart who in April gifted Senator Hanson a $1 million plane.
"When it comes to big money in this country, it's all going to One Nation," Labor's national president told Nine's Today on Friday.
Iran (WASHINGTON, D. C.)
President Donald Trump says the United States and Iran could sign a peace deal as soon as this weekend that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but Iran counters that it hasn't reached a final decision on an agreement.
The deal - announced on Thursday - if confirmed, would be the most significant diplomatic breakthrough yet to end the three-month-old war, which has killed thousands of people and sent global energy prices sharply higher.
Iranian media reported Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei as saying large parts of the text under negotiation have been finalised but Iran would not compromise on its red lines.
"We have not reached a final conclusion on this matter," he said.
"This is a very important issue that is currently being reviewed by the relevant decision-making bodies."
Legal: Murray (ADELAIDE)
The grandmother of missing boy Gus Lamont has been found guilty of possessing a gun silencer after a court heard she had a previous conviction involving the theft of firearms by a fugitive.
Josie Murray - the grandmother of the four-year-old who vanished from her South Australia homestead in September 2025 - was fined $10,500 after a hearing in Adelaide Magistrates Court on Friday.
Murray, 75, of Yunta, had pleaded guilty to one aggravated charge of possessing a sound moderator.
Defence lawyer Andy Ey told magistrate Roderick Jensen that he would "address the elephant in the room".
"It's been an extremely difficult time for my client. A grandchild went missing on the property late last year," he said.
"We see the media attention and number of police here - this has been a very, very difficult time for the family, trying to get through as best they can."
In finance ...
UK Economy (LONDON)
Britain's economy contracted by 0.1 per cent in April, its first monthly drop since August 2025 as the Iran war's cancellation of Formula 1 Grand Prix races and other Gulf sporting events delivered a blow to the British entertainment industry.
Friday's data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed the first clear signs of an impact from the US-Israeli war on Iran in terms of British economic growth.
Output in the dominant services sector declined in April by 0.2 per cent, dragged down by administration and support services, as well as the arts, recreation and entertainment sectors.
An ONS official said there were reports that cancellation of sporting events in the Middle East had hit related British firms.
The outbreak of war resulted in the cancellation of Formula 1 Grand Prix races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, which had been due to take place in April.
BHP (MELBOURNE)
BHP has been accused of using strikebreaking tactics similar to US tech behemoth Amazon by hiring alternative workers to avoid a major planned strike.
Up to 450 workers at the mining giant's Port Hedland facility could go on strike as early as next week after union members overwhelmingly voted in support of the move.
One union head said he was disappointed to see BHP acting the way it is towards its workers, given how well Australia had treated it, and how much profit it had extracted from the nation.
"The company so far has been stonewalling us and (is) starting to engage in American Amazon-style tactics by bringing in strikebreakers," Electrical Trades Union WA secretary Adam Woodage told media on Friday.
In entertainment ...
Obit Hockney (LONDON)
Artist David Hockney, whose paintings of pools shimmering in the Los Angeles sunshine became icons of 20th-century art, has died at age 88.
Hockney was born in the north of England but lived much of his life in southern California, making its sun-drenched suburban views a major motif.
Later in life he returned to Europe, finding renewed inspiration in the wooded hills of his native county of Yorkshire and the fields and trees of France's Normandy region.
He became one of the UK's most treasured artists, his works selling for record prices at auction.
Historian Simon Schama said "the popularity and durability of David Hockney's art, through all his shape-shifts and restlessly inventive experiments, are really no mystery".
"His work is admired - loved is not too strong a word - by the millions who, worldwide, flock to see it because it presupposes an expectation of pleasure," Schama wrote in an essay accompanying a 2025 Hockney exhibition in Paris.
Aria (SYDNEY)
Relatives of Australian music royalty say their legendary family member succeeded in his goal of sharing powerful culture with the world.
Gurrumul, the celebrated artist from the Gumatj clan of Elcho Island in Arnhem Land, took his rightful place in the Australian Recording Industry Association Hall of Fame on Thursday night.
The Indigenous icon was already on the honour roll as a member of similarly celebrated band Yothu Yindi, becoming one of a handful to be inducted twice.
His family opened Thursday night's celebration of ARIA's 40th anniversary with an emotional tribute to their late relative, who died aged 46 in 2017 after a battle with kidney and liver disease.
Brother-in-law Don Wininba expanded on his family's pride of Gurrumul helping to take Indigenous music to the world.
In sport ...
Com26 Swi (SYDNEY)
Australian swimmer Shayna Jack's dream has finally come true.
After so many years of trying, Jack will head to this year's Commonwealth Games as one half of the nation's next sibling swimming act.
Jack secured a spot in Glasgow by touching in 52.96 seconds to finish third in Friday's 100m freestyle at Australia's swimming trials in Sydney.
Five-time Olympic gold medallist Mollie O'Callaghan clocked 52.33 seconds for victory, 0.30 seconds ahead of second-placed Meg Harris.
Jack's younger brother Jamie sealed his maiden Commonwealth Games spot earlier in the week, after finishing second to world record-holder Cameron McEvoy in the men's 50m freestyle.
McEvoy had touched in 21.32 seconds, with the 22-year-old Jack trailing by 0.22 seconds.
The younger Jack was poolside to congratulate his sister on Friday night, with the Paris Olympic gold medallist bursting into tears.
WC26 Aust (OAKLAND)
The Socceroos have moved to allay fears over Mohamed Toure's fitness ahead of their World Cup opener, insisting the young striker returned to training as normal two days out from facing Turkey.
Toure was absent from Wednesday's training session, sparking speculation over his fitness, but the Socceroos had said they expected him to return to training on Thursday (Friday AEST).
That session was closed, meaning media couldn't verify Toure's attendance, but teammates Jacob Italiano and Aziz Behich both said Toure had trained.
"He looked good. Great to have him back amongst the boys," Behich said.
"He's fine, running about, full of energy. So it was nice to see that."
Italiano said with a grin: "Can confirm that Mo was there. Mo was fit. Mo is healthy. It's all good."
Ends Bulletin
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