By John Towfighi, CNN

(CNN) — AI companies’ plans for blockbuster initial public offerings (IPOs) are captivating Wall Street.

Anthropic on Monday took a major step toward going public. Rival OpenAI is also expected to file for an IPO. Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which filed for an IPO in May, is slated to start trading on the stock market this month.

As companies race to dominate in AI, Wall Street expects the enormous buildout of data centers to continue in order to power the technology. That’s sparking fierce rallies in companies other than just Big Tech: Some of the hottest stocks this year have been the memory chip makers and data storage companies poised to benefit from the AI infrastructure buildout.

Big Tech’s enormous spending on AI infrastructure, and plans for IPOs like Anthropic’s, are creating tailwinds for companies involved in the supply chain.

It’s boosting shares in companies like SanDisk (SNDK), which is up more than 600% year-to-date. SanDisk specializes in memory storage.

Micron Technology (MU), Seagate Technology (STX) and Western Digital (WDC) have all soared more than 200% this year. Micron makes memory chips. Seagate and Western Digital specialize in data storage.

The S&P 500, in comparison, is up 11% so far this year.

Alphabet (GOOG) on Monday announced its intent to raise $80 billion in equity, with $10 billion from Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B), to fund the buildout of AI infrastructure. The plan underscores the tailwinds for companies in the supply chain for data centers.

Memory mania

AI systems require enormous memory and storage to function efficiently and process large swaths of data.

Demand for chips and memory is so intense that it’s outstripping supply, exacerbating concerns about shortages. That imbalance is allowing chip makers and storage companies to charge more for their products, boosting their earnings and growth forecasts, said Angelo Zino, tech analyst at CFRA Research.

“Certain pockets of the supply chain are seeing some significant bottlenecks,” Zino said. “Those areas of the market that are seeing the greatest bottlenecks also have the greatest potential upside to pricing.”

It’s enticing investors on Wall Street as well as retail traders. Micron was the second-most traded stock, after Nvidia (NVDA), on trading platform Interactive Brokers in the five trading sessions leading up to May 26. SanDisk was sixth.

Roundhill, a financial services company, launched an exchange-traded fund in April focused on memory stocks, with the ticker DRAM, a reference to a type of memory technology. The DRAM ETF rose 61% in May.

Analysts expect the AI buildout to transform revenue streams for companies like SanDisk and Micron. SanDisk shares, leading the pack, are up more than 4,500% across the past 12 months. SanDisk spun off from Western Digital in February 2025.

Analysts at Citi on May 19 raised their price target for SanDisk from $1,300 to $2,025. The stock closed at $1,761 on Monday, up 27% since Citi upgraded its target two weeks ago.

SanDisk has “capitalized on the current state of the market” by laying out business deals with clear pricing ag

By Don Riddell, CNN

(CNN) — The US Men’s National Team (USMNT) won’t be able to use magic to win the FIFA World Cup, but if they could, Weston McKennie says he’s got a couple of tricks up his sleeve.

“Avada Kedavra – because there would be no more opponents,” McKennie told CNN Sports, referencing one of the darkest spells from the world of Harry Potter. He quickly realizes that might be a little too dark – “Just playing,” he smiles.

“I’d probably say Expecto Patronum because it’s a shielding spell. Someone (an opponent) shoots on goal, I just hit that spell real quick. Doesn’t mean I don’t believe in goalkeepers… just can never be too sure!”

The 27-year-old McKennie says he used to feel like the odd man out. When the American midfield soccer star arrived at Italian giant Juventus in Turin, he was surrounded by world-class players who all had their own unique goal celebrations.

There was Cristiano Ronaldo with his iconic ‘Siu’ – a leap towards the corner flag, a half turn in the air, sticking the landing with a puffed-out chest and his arms thrust down by his sides. Paulo Dybala would put his hand over his face, mimicking a Roman Gladiator style mask, and Leonardo Bonucci would point to his face in celebration.

“I was never a player that really scored a lot,” McKennie told CNN, but whenever he did find the back of the net, “I would just run back to midfield and line up to go again.”

And then the goals started flowing. “I was like, ‘OK, let me try and create a signature celebration for myself. What’s unique for me? What do I really like?’” he said. “I loved Harry Potter since I was young, so I was like, ‘OK, let me just cast a spell.’”

How big a Potter fan is McKennie? “Big enough to have a tattoo of his scar on my finger!”

In January 2021, McKennie scored for Juve in Italy’s Serie A against Bologna, and the first spell was cast, a celebration that featured him rotating his right wrist three times and leaning forward with a pretend wand in his hand.

“I don’t think they really knew what it was or what I was referencing,” he recalled of his teammates’ reactions. “But then, obviously, it stuck – and it was ‘Magic McKennie.’”

Five years later, McKennie says that his celebration has become so iconic that he sees fans doing it in the crowd, and he’s stopped by people in the street, asking to perform the celebration with them in videos.

His foundation, which focuses on the underserved community and in particular children in orphanages, is called McKennie’s Magical Youth Mission, and his Pottermania has also led to a partnership with Harry Potter franchise owner Warner Bros. (like CNN, Warner Bros. is part of the wider Warner Bros. Discovery family).

A normal person with special powers

His bewitching celebration was the very first scene to be featured in the new Tubi documentary series, “Destination World Cup.” McKennie said that he agreed to be featured in the show because he wants to be seen as more than just a soccer player, and he also wanted to dispel some myths about him.

“I think a lot of people forget that we’re just normal people that just happen to be good at playing a sport,” he told CNN Sports. “I feel like it was a good opportunity for me to be able to show everyone that I do like normal things that everyone else likes as well.

“But the one thing I did tell them was, ‘Nothing’s scripted, I’ll give you guys the raw stuff. I’m gonna be myself.’”

McKennie says that after being criticized at times

By Vanessa Yurkevich, Chris Isidore, Matt Egan, CNN

(CNN) — The most powerful shipping executives in the world are gathered in Athens this week for the annual International Shipping Exhibition. The hot topic: the Strait of Hormuz.

President Donald Trump has said the strait’s reopening is imminent. Administration officials tout ships getting through the vital chokepoint.

Yet most shipping executives remain unwilling to send their cargo ships through the 21-mile channel until the United States and Iran strike a definitive peace agreement that includes the safe reopening of the strait.

The strait’s closure continues to cut off 20% of the world’s oil supply from global markets, along with liquid natural gas and fertilizer needed for a functioning global economy. After oil prices fell last week on hopes of an agreement to reopen the strait, oil futures shot up Monday following a weekend of renewed fighting in the region and reports Iran had broken off peace negotiations.

According to research firm Kpler, only seven ships on Friday passed through the strait — five entering and two exiting. Over the weekend, just four additional ships left the strait. One hundred cargo-carrying vessels typically move through the waterway daily, according to shipping-data provider Lloyd’s List.

“Traffic still remains exceptionally depleted,” Matt Smith, director of commodity research at Kpler, told CNN. “Barring a handful of tankers crossing each day, the strait remains essentially closed.”

Since current traffic is only a trickle compared to normal, industry officials do not believe it will make a significant difference to global markets.

It will take more than a “limited number of successful transits” to restore confidence, Gene Seroka, the executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, who spent half a decade working for American President Lines in the Middle East, told CNN.

“The larger issue is whether carriers, insurers and vessel operators have enough confidence in the long-term security environment to resume regular service patterns,” said Seroka.

Efforts last month to have the US military guide commercial vessels out of the strait through “Project Freedom” proved to be short-lived.

Despite reports of new naval escorts in recent days, a spokesperson for US Central Command said that had not happened.

“Though US forces are not escorting, we continue to communicate and coordinate with commercial ships seeking to freely and safely transit the Strait of Hormuz,” said Captain Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for the command.

Industry sources confirm it’ll take time for normal traffic to resume.

“Our general sense is that the threat to ships crossing the Strait is still significant, and we will not see a full resumption of traffic through the strait until there is a stronger guarantee of safe passage,” an oil industry source told CNN on Monday.

On Monday, a cargo vessel traveling in the northern Persian Gulf was struck by an unknown projectile, according to a British military-run maritime security organization. There have been 39 vessel strikes in the region and 11 deaths since the war began, according to the International Maritime Organization.

Container ships that typically deliver much of the food and other goods to Gulf states have also been trapped by the strait’s closure. Maersk, one of the world’s largest container shipping firms, has not had a ship leave since mid-May. Six Maersk ships are still trapped in the Gulf.

Shipping industry sources said it is critical that no restrictions or fees be imposed on ships once the strait reopens.

“As shipping comes under increasing pressure from geopolitical events, we must do all we can to work together to always put the safety of seafarers first,” Arseni

Por Sean Lyngaas y Zachary Cohen, CNN

Unos piratas informáticos accedieron este domingo ilegalmente a la cuenta de Instagram de un alto funcionario de la Fuerza Espacial de Estados Unidos y publicaron temporalmente una serie de mensajes de propaganda a favor de Irán y en contra de Estados Unidos, algunos de los cuales hacían referencia a la guerra de Vietnam.

Un video revisado por CNN utilizó audio de “Hanoi Hannah”, una infame propagandista de la guerra de Vietnam, en el que se decía a los soldados estadounidenses que “abandonaran un barco que se hunde”.

El video también incluía imágenes del fallecido funcionario de seguridad iraní Ali Larijani, quien murió semanas después del inicio de la guerra entre Estados Unidos, Israel e Irán.

En una publicación de Facebook el domingo por la noche, el sargento mayor John Bentivegna, el suboficial de mayor rango en la Fuerza Espacial, aconsejó a sus colegas que no hicieran clic en ningún enlace ni interactuaran con los videos que publicaba su cuenta.

“Estamos trabajando con los equipos correspondientes para recuperar el acceso y resolver el problema lo antes posible”, declaró Bentivegna.

Un portavoz de la Fuerza Espacial confirmó el ataque, pero se negó a responder preguntas sobre cuánto tiempo estuvo visible el contenido pirateado en la cuenta de Bentivegna o quién fue el responsable del incidente.

La Fuerza Espacial ha desempeñado un papel importante en las operaciones militares estadounidenses contra Irán.

El jefe del Estado Mayor Conjunto, el general Dan Caine, reconoció que la Fuerza Espacial utilizó “efectos no cinéticos” para obstaculizar las defensas de Irán cuando Estados Unidos comenzó a bombardear el país el 28 de febrero.

Los líderes militares estadounidenses han advertido repetidamente a sus tropas que sus teléfonos y cuentas en línea podrían ser objetivos durante la guerra.

El Comando Central de Estados Unidos, que abarca Medio Oriente y más allá y dirige la guerra estadounidense en Irán, informó recientemente a los legisladores que había recibido múltiples informes de amenazas sobre la explotación por parte del adversario de datos de localización comerciales para atacar o vigilar al personal estadounidense en la zona de operaciones.

A finales de abril, varios miembros del Cuerpo de Marines de EE.UU., empleados civiles y sus familias recibieron amenazas, según la Armada, “sin fundamento” a través de mensajes de texto de un grupo de presuntos hackers iraníes.

Uno de los mensajes amenazantes, revisado por CNN, decía: “Nuestras unidades de misiles conocen perfectamente sus identidades y cada uno de sus movimientos está bajo nuestra vigilancia”.

El hackeo de la cuenta de Instagram de Bentivegna es solo el último frente en las batallas propagandísticas que han caracterizado la guerra de Estados Unidos contra Irán.

En marzo, piratas informáticos iraníes accedieron a la cuenta de correo electrónico personal del director del FBI, Kash Patel, y filtraron algunas de sus fotos y correos electrónicos antiguos.

Jóvenes iraníes también han utilizado inteligencia artificial para crear videos virales con temática de Lego que se burlan del presidente Donald Trump, del secretario de Defensa Pete Hegseth y del esfuerzo bélico estadounidense.

Por su parte, la Casa Blanca y el Comando Central de Estados Unidos han publicado videos de ataques militares editados con gran maestría que, para muchos observadores, han Read more

By Davis Winkie, Marshall Cohen, CNN

(CNN) — Members of the US military may soon be barred from using prediction markets to bet on global events if a draft defense policy bill passes Congress and becomes law. The proposal comes after a high-profile case where a US special forces soldier is accused of using classified information to place bets tied to the capture of Nicolás Maduro.

Draft bill text released last week by the House Armed Services Committee includes a requirement that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issue regulations banning members of the armed forces and Pentagon civilian employees from trading on prediction markets where the person has relevant “nonpublic information” or “may reasonably obtain” such info. The provision would also require Hegseth to develop a “range of punishments” for violating the rule.

Prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket have exploded in popularity over the past year. They’re treated like commodity futures and regulated by the federal government, but many lawmakers and state officials say the rules haven’t caught up to the realities of the massively growing industry.

Under current federal law, prediction sites for US-based users aren’t allowed to offer markets on war. But Polymarket has a popular offshore site, that Americans can easily access with a virtual private network, with dozens of war-related markets available for trading.

The Maduro trades led in April to the first known federal prosecution for alleged insider trading on prediction markets, with the soldier allegedly making $400,000 on Polymarket. The soldier has pleaded not guilty, and Polymarket issued a statement saying it had “referred the matter to the DOJ” after the platform “identified a user trading on classified government information.”

CNN has a partnership with Kalshi and uses its data to cover major events, but CNN editorial employees aren’t allowed to use prediction markets.

The provision barring troop betting may not survive the monthslong road ahead for the annual defense policy bill, a perennial platform for legislative politicking, but it would mark a change that could trigger stiff penalties for service members who leverage insider information.

Eugene Fidell, a Coast Guard veteran who co-founded the National Institute of Military Justice and teaches military law at Yale Law School, told CNN that the bill “clearly contemplates” criminal punishment under military law for violators. Under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, disobeying orders or regulations can be prosecuted as a federal crime.

Fidell said that the federal government should address prediction market insider trading issues “as part of an overall strategy rather than piecemeal,” as opposed to singling out service members for more intensive regulation.

Insider trading is already illegal under federal law in situations where the trader had a pre-existing duty to keep the information private, such as military members and classified mission details. But the draft defense bill provision expands on that framework by proscribing trading on “nonpublic information,” a broad category that includes even unclassified info that isn’t publicly available. Trading on unclassified nonpublic information, for example, could include betting on the winner of a major defense contract befor