cash

Aug. 1 (UPI) — President Donald Trump‘s super PAC has raised $177 million in the last six months, and has nearly $200 million in cash available to use in the next midterm elections.

His leadership PAC raised $28 million, according to filings submitted to the Federal Election Commission Thursday.

It’s an unprecedented amount for a president who can’t run again.

Donors include, Jeffrey Yass, billionaire trader, $16 million; Ronald Lauder, cosmetics heir, $5 million; Marc Andreessen, Silicon Valley investor, $3 million; Elon Musk, $5 million; Kelcy Warren, CEO of Energy Transfer Partners, $12.5 million, and the company also gave $12.5 million; Securing American Greatness, a pro-Trump dark money group, $13.75 million and Blockchain.com, $5 million.

The two PACs reported a combined $234 million in cash at the end of June.

They mostly haven’t spent the cash. Instead, they’ve been stockpiling it to use in 2026 primaries or to boost Republicans in midterms.

Never Surrender is now the president’s primary leadership PAC. It was converted from his 2024 campaign committee. It reported $38 million in cash on hand after spending $16.8 million, which was mostly leftover expenses from the campaign.

The main pro-Trump superPAC is MAGA Inc., which reported $196 million in cash on hand after only spending a few million.

SuperPACs have no donation limits. They can pay for political ads, but they can’t coordinate with or contribute directly to campaigns or political parties.

Musk donated $5 million to MAGA Inc. on June 27, three days before reigniting his feud with Trump over his megabill. He also donated $5 million each to two super PACs to help Republicans keep their House of Representative and Senate majorities.

July 29 (UPI) — Cash App on Tuesday announced a new group payment system that will also allow users to use Apple Pay and Google Pay to contribute for the first time.

The group payment system is only available to certain users currently, but it will roll out to more users in the upcoming months.

“If members of the group use different payment solutions, the organizer has historically needed to download multiple apps to collect the money from each person resulting in confusion, time wasted, and risk for all participants. Now, the organizer can create a shareable link for group members to contribute to a pool in seconds using Apple Pay or Google Pay,” Cash App said in a press release.

The company said it designed the pool for easier payment by separating the payment instead of one person taking the total entire fee.

“Pools were designed for groups to easily plan, collect, and track contributions before the event occurs so that nobody has to front the entire cost.”

The app works by allowing an organizer to set a goal amount and invite members to join the pool and track the group’s contributions.

“Cash App has always made sending money between friends and family feel effortless, and we know that many of our customers already use the platform as a way to collect payments from groups,” said Cameron Worboys, Head of Product Design at Cash App. “With pools, our customers now have a dedicated, easy-to-use solution for group payments: they can start a pool to collect the money in seconds, and then instantly transfer the funds to their Cash App balance when it’s time to pay.”

Cash App also announced it will introduce more features in the upcoming future.

As a deep-pocketed producer, David Ellison helped breathe new life into Paramount franchises including “Mission: Impossible,” “Star Trek” and “Top Gun.”

But can the high-flying son of a billionaire make a full-fledged media company airworthy again? Can he use Silicon Valley money and movie business know-how to restore the legacy of one of the entertainment industry’s original studios, following a deal clinched through an act of political appeasement?

Those are the questions Hollywood talent, studio rivals and insiders will be asking as Ellison takes the controls of the new Paramount, after regulators finally approved the long-awaited $8-billion merger with his Santa Monica production company Skydance Media. The deal — two years in the making, and approved by the FCC only after a $16-million settlement with Trump and promises to mindwipe any trace of DEI from the company — is expected to close Aug. 7.

After that, Ellison, backed in large part by his father, Oracle Corp. co-founder Larry Ellison, will bring in his own team to face the daunting challenges.

Chris McCarthy, the architect of Paramount’s recent streaming strategy, is out. Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon head Brian Robbins is also expected to exit while CBS chief George Cheeks is staying. The incoming management team includes former NBCUniversal Chief Executive Jeff Shell, who is currently a heavyweight at Ellison’s bidding partner RedBird Capital.

Skydance Chief Creative Officer Dana Goldberg will run the film studio, and former Netflix executive Cindy Holland will play a major role at the new company. Also joining is Sony Pictures movie executive Josh Greenstein.

This may be a different team from the one that labored under outgoing controlling shareholder Shari Redstone, but it’ll be contending with most of the same problems.

Paramount is dogged by issues buffeting all legacy media companies, including the decline of traditional TV ratings, the post-COVID-19 realignment of the theatrical box office and the escalating costs of sports rights, as my colleague Stephen Battaglio and I reported last week. Those difficulties were exacerbated at Paramount by chronic underinvestment and years of shambolic leadership, as corporate governance experts have long pointed out.

Ellison has direct experience with movies, having produced many of them, including some of Paramount’s biggest hits (as well as some notable flops). He’s less steeped in running TV channels and streaming services, which have urgent needs. The scion is also coming in to make good on a promise to investors: to find $2 billion in cost cutting, which will mean layoffs and disruption.

Paramount+ has been growing, thanks in part to the NFL, CBS shows and a run of original hits including “Landman,” “1923” and “Tulsa King.” But the service has lost money for years, and the app is clunky. (It’s expected to reach full-year U.S. profitability in 2025.) McCarthy spent big bucks on talent, including Taylor Sheridan and the creators of “South Park,” enough to make Matt Stone and Trey Parker billionaires, according to Forbes.

Analysts say the service will need substantial investment in content and technology to make it competitive while also partnering with other companies to increase its reach through discounted bundles and other initiatives.

The new owners will have to decide what to do with the cable channel business, which includes such eroding brands as MTV, BET and Comedy Central.

Many observers tend to assume Ellison will eventually spin those off, following the lead of NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. Discovery. In a sadly comical reminder of what can happen with a merger gone wrong, David Zaslav’s Warner Bros. Discovery on Monday announced that the two companies resulting from its pending breakup will be called — wait for it — Warner Bros. and Discovery Global.

TD Cowen analyst Doug Cruetz, in a recent note to clients, speculated that Ellison didn’t buy the Paramount assets just to “break it up for parts.”

We’ll see.

Another looming and potentially costly issue is the NFL’s relationship with CBS Sports. The change of control will trigger an early renegotiation of Paramount’s contract with the league once the transaction closes. That’s important because the NFL has significant leverage in dealmaking, considering that its games account for the vast majority of most-watched programming on television.

Ellison has promised to bring technological enhancements to Paramount. That would mean a more functional app for Paramount+ and an improved personalized recommendation system. It might mean using tech to make movies cheaper and faster. A year ago, Ellison noted a partnership between Skydance Animation and Oracle to build a so-called studio in the cloud. What technology can’t do is pick the movies people want to see, and that’s where the new leadership group will have to prove themselves.

But the biggest hurdle will be overcoming the stain covering the deal itself after the concessions required to get it over the finish line.

Paramount paid a substantial sum to make peace with President Trump, who had sued the company over CBS News’ “60 Minutes” interview with his 2024 election rival, then-Vice President Kamala Harris. The case was frivolous, 1st Amendment experts said. But the Redstone family and the Ellisons were desperate to get the deal done. As a result, the new company is starting off on a crooked foundation, as one Hollywood insider put it to me.

Stephen Colbert, speaking on “The Late Show,” called Paramount’s settlement a “big fat bribe.” Days later, he learned that his show would be ending in May. Even assuming the company told the truth in saying that the cancellation was a purely financial decision (i.e., the show was too expensive and it was losing money), the optics were bad.

Comedians responded the way comedians do. The “South Park” team, having secured a $1.5 billion deal to bring the long-running animated series to Paramount+, opened their 27th season with, effectively, a pair of middle fingers raised to Trump and their parent company.

The show depicted a flapping-headed cartoon Trump in bed with Satan, similar to its past portrayal of Saddam Hussein, and ended with an AI-generated PSA showing the president wandering the desert and stripping naked, revealing tiny, talking genitalia.

The Trump settlement cast a pall over whatever plans Ellison has. CBS News lost key figures in part due to Paramount’s push to reach a peace accord with the president (Tanya Simon being named to run “60 Minutes” is seen as a relief). But whatever you say about the corporate behind-the-scenes machinations that took place to make the deal happen, you can’t say the artists have lost their spine.

Stuff we wrote

Number of the week

In a return to form for Walt Disney Co.’s Marvel Studios, “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” opened with a robust $118 million in the U.S. and Canada and $218 million globally, according to studio estimates, slightly outperforming prerelease projections.

This comes after middling results and poor reviews for “Captain America: Brave New World” and tepid sales (but better reviews) for “Thunderbolts*.” Last summer’s “Deadpool & Wolverine” was a $1.34-billion hit.

Like Deadpool and Wolverine, the Fantastic Four — known as Marvel’s first family — came to Disney through the company’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox entertainment assets. Fox made three “Fantastic Four” movies, all bad. “First Steps” earned mostly positive reviews from critics and fans (88% on Rotten Tomatoes; “A-” from CinemaScore).

The $218-million global opening weekend was similar to that of James Gunn’s DC reboot “Superman,” released earlier this month. That film just crossed the $500 million box office milestone, with a strong $289 million domestically and a less-impressive $213 million overseas.

Theaters have been on a winning streak this summer. So far this year, ticket sales are up 12% from 2024, according to Comscore. But the rest of the season looks thin. Next weekend features Paramount’s “The Naked Gun,” Universal’s animated “Bad Guys 2” and Neon’s Sundance horror breakout “Together,” starring real-life couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie.

Finally …

One marker of a great artist is the number and diversity of musicians who take inspiration from their work. And Ozzy Osbourne, the Black Sabbath frontman who died last week, had plenty of admirers who covered his songs.

The Times’ Mikael Wood already rounded up the Prince of Darkness’ 10 essential tracks. Here are some of the best covers, with help from Rolling Stone and Loudwire.

The UK has condemned the latest cash offer from Hong Kong authorities for people who help in the arrest of pro-democracy activists living in Britain.

In a joint statement, Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described the move as “another example of transnational repression”.

People are being offered between $25,000 (HK$200,000) and $125,000 for information leading to the arrest of 19 individuals, all of whom are pro-democracy activists living abroad.

China has denounced as “interference” criticism over this type of appeal, which it has made three times previously.

The 19 people are accused of violating Beijing’s national security law imposed in 2020 in response to the 2019 anti-government protests that rocked the city for months.

The amounts on offer vary depending on the individual. Among the highest offers on the list are those for Choi Ming-da and Fok Ka-chi, who Hong Kong police said operated a social media channel named “Tuesdayroad”.

Politician Nathan Law – who had been a lawmaker on the Legislative Council of Hong Kong – and activist and commentator Yuan Gong-Yi also appear on the lists.

The first such rewards were issued in July and December 2023. They targeted Mr Law – who told the BBC that his life became more dangerous after a bounty was announced – and Simon Cheng, a former UK consulate employee detained in 2019 in a high-profile case.

The third series of rewards targeted six pro-democracy activists living in the UK and Canada, including Tony Chung, the former leader of a pro-independence group.

A special visa scheme introduced in 2021 saw around 150,000 Hong Kong residents move to the UK, according to the Home Office.

In November last year a Hong Kong court sentenced dozens of pro-democracy leaders to years in jail for subversion, following a controversial national security trial.

In their statement in response to the latest bounty, Ms Cooper and Mr Lammy said: “This government will continue to stand with the people of Hong Kong, including those who have made the UK their home.

“We take the protection of their rights, freedoms, and safety very seriously.”

Their joint statement added: “The UK is committed to human rights, the rule of law, and the safety of all individuals in the UK.

“That’s why we have taken further steps to complete the severing of ties between the UK and Hong Kong extradition systems by removing Hong Kong from the Extradition Act 2003.”

A cash fund for families financially reeling from ongoing federal immigration raids will be up and running within a month, according to Los Angeles County officials.

The Board of Supervisors voted 4-0 Tuesday to create the fund, fueled by philanthropy, focused on workers and their families in small L.A. County cities and unincorporated areas.

Details on the fund were sparse. It was not clear who will be eligible or how much a family could expect to collect.

For almost two months, the Trump administration’s sweeping raids have petrified residents across the region, with immigration agents snatching people from swap meets, car washes, Home Depot stores and street corners. Church pews, hospitals and whole neighborhoods have been emptier than usual. Many say they’re scared to go to work, as they weigh the necessity of collecting a paycheck against the risk that they might be arrested and deported.

“We are sending a clear message: Los Angeles County stands with our immigrant communities, and we will continue to fight to ensure that every resident, regardless of immigration status, has the dignity and support they need to survive and thrive,” said Supervisor Hilda Solis, who spearheaded the fund, in a statement.

The county also wants to expand a fund for small businesses who are affected financially by the raids, according to the motion approved by the supervisors.

Supervisor Kathryn Barger was absent from the vote, which comes on the heels of L.A. Mayor Karen Bass’ announcement last week that the city will provide cash to people affected by the sweeping immigration raids. Bass said the aid, also funded by philanthropy, will be distributed using cash cards with a “couple hundred” dollars on them.

The federal agents conducting the immigration raids are often in plainclothes, with their faces shielded by sunglasses and masks. Supervisor Janice Hahn said Tuesday that she plans to introduce an ordinance barring law enforcement from concealing their identities in unincorporated areas, where the county government is the local authority.

“Law enforcement officers should never wear personal disguises or conceal their identities while interacting with the public in the course of their duties,” said Hahn.

The county is also considering a program to safeguard belongings left behind in unincorporated areas by people detained by ICE agents, as well as starting a hotline for deported workers to retrieve unpaid wages.

Rampant immigration sweeps have left a trail of belongings — cars, lawn mowers, ice cream carts — across the region with no clear way to reunite the items with their owners.

“Most people don’t know how to get their last paycheck when they are deported, how to reconcile with their equipment or anything that relates to the life that they held here,” said Rosa Soto, head of the LA General Medical Center Foundation, at the meeting. “It is imperative we have the support they need.

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Mayor Karen Bass announced a plan Friday to provide direct cash assistance to people who have been affected by the Trump administration’s sweeping immigration raids.

The aid will be distributed using cash cards with a “couple hundred” dollars on them, which should be available in about a week, Bass said at a news conference.

“You have people who don’t want to leave their homes, who are not going to work, and they are in need of cash,” she said.

Bass spoke about a family she met who needed two incomes to afford their rent. After one of the breadwinners was detained in an immigration raid, she said, the family is concerned they may face eviction.

It was not immediately clear what the qualifications will be needed to receive the cards.

The mayor emphasized that the money will not come from city coffers but from philanthropic partners. The cards will be distributed by immigrants rights groups such as the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles.

The city will coordinate between philanthropists and organizations distributing the cards, according to the mayor’s office.

The mayor compared the program to “Angeleno Cards,” created by Mayor Eric Garcetti in 2020 to give financial assistance to people struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The announcement came during a Bass news conference about an executive order she signed Friday directing all city departments to “bolster protocols” and training on how to comply with the city’s sanctuary policy, which states that city employees and city property may not be used to “investigate, cite, arrest, hold, transfer or detain any person” for the purpose of immigration enforcement, except for serious crimes. Departments will have to come up with their plans within two weeks.

The Trump administration sued the city over the sanctuary policy last month, arguing that it discriminates against organizations like ICE.

The executive order also creates a working group that will examine — and possibly update — the LAPD’s policy on responding to immigration enforcement. Since 1979, the LAPD has taken a strong stance against enforcing federal immigration law, prohibiting its officers from initiating contact with anyone for the sole purpose of learning their immigration status.

The executive order also includes a directive to file Freedom of Information Act requests for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to turn over records with the dates and locations of every raid in the city since June 6, as well as the identities of the people detained and the reason for their detention.

The cash cards are one of a slew of announcements — including the executive order — this week by the mayor in response to the federal immigration crackdown in Los Angeles that has entered its second month.

Earlier this week, Bass and the city attorney announced the city’s intention to join a lawsuit calling for an end to the Trump administration’s “unlawful” raids in the city.

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Brits on Spain holidays should take note of new rules around Euro notes in holiday hotspots including the Canaries as you could find your cash is refused

Brits planning Spain holidays this year will no doubt be looking to withdraw some cash for shopping, food and souvenirs but there’s a new rule in place you’ll need to be aware of.

Although nowadays most people will favour card payments over cash, the latter can still be useful especially if you’re out and about and find yourself in a shop or restaurant that doesn’t accept card.

However, UK holidaymakers heading to Spain, the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands may want to take note of new rules regarding Euro notes.

Firstly, if you can, avoid withdrawing €500 notes at the currency exchange or bank. The European Central Bank and the Bank of Spain officially ceased production of these notes in 2016, but a small quantity of these purple notes are still in circulation. Although they are legal tender, their usage is becoming increasingly challenging, reports Bristol Live. The hefty value of the notes, along with their link to illicit activities, has resulted in many establishments refusing to accept them.

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If you withdraw money and receive a €500 note, insist on smaller denominations instead. You can also take large notes to a Spanish bank for exchange.

Of course when it comes to cash, most of us will opt for smaller amounts at a time, but if you’re thinking of using up some older €50 notes from previous holidays, you may want to get rid of these quickly. This is because Spain’s central bank has started phasing out old and damaged €50 notes from circulation. This scheme, which kicks off this summer, aims to bolster the security of cash transactions and thwart fraud.

The new changes are being rolled out, so if you’ve got a holiday booked this summer you won’t suddenly find that all of your cash isn’t accepted. However if you do have some Euros lying around the house, you may want to consider using them up on your next holidays.

It’s also worth checking the state of your banknotes, especially if they’ve been crammed into a purse at the bottom of a drawer or suitcase for a few months. That’s because as part of the new rollouts, old and damaged banknotes will also be gradually withdrawn from circulation.

This could mean that tourists might find their worn or torn notes being rejected by cashiers. When you’re swapping your holiday money, make sure any €50 notes are in tip-top shape, and ask for replacements if you spot any damage.

Tattered notes can be exchanged at any Bank of Spain branch or selected partner banks, but don’t forget to bring some form of identification like your passport. They won’t exchange counterfeit or deliberately damaged notes.

For those who usually toss their spare change into a jar after their holiday, it’s worth noting that some countries may soon ditch one and two cent Euro coins too. Countries such as Ireland, Belgium, and Italy have already ceased using these coins, rounding up cash transactions to the nearest five cents instead, and they’re no longer being produced. Meanwhile a number of other Eurozone countries are doing the same,

Do you have a travel story you want to share with us? Email us at [email protected].

The Lakers have made a move to a better position in the second round of the Thursday night’s NBA draft, moving up to the 45th pick and sending their 55th pick and cash to the Chicago Bulls, according to people not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

The cost of the pick was about $2.5 million, and it may put the Lakers in position to draft a center.

People around the league said the Lakers are trying to put themselves in position to draft center Ryan Kalkbrenner out of Creighton University. Kalkbrenner is older at 23, but he’s 7-1 and averaged 19.4 points and 9.0 rebounds last season, and he shot 66.3% from the field and 34% from three-point range.

And the Lakers’ biggest need this offseason is a center.