AI boom adds more than half a trillion dollars to wealth of US tech barons in 2025

A stock market boom in artificial intelligence companies has added more than half a trillion dollars to the wealth of America’s tech barons in the past year, data shows.The top 10 US founders and bosses of some of the world’s largest technology companies saw their finances swell to nearly $2.5tn, up from $1.9tn, in the year to Christmas Eve, according to figures from Bloomberg.Elon Musk, already the world’s richest man, has again proved to be one of biggest winners as the AI gold-rush has pushed US stock markets to record highs

VIP viewing: cinemas bet on luxury bars and beds to usher in a new film era

From champagne coolers to front row VIP beds, cinema owners are investing heavily in premium experiences as the industry gets its box office mojo back.As the third instalment in James Cameron’s blockbuster Avatar series pulls in the Christmas holiday crowds, the UK box office is expected to surpass £1bn in 2025 for the first time since before the global Covid pandemic.Amid financially testing times – with the pace of a hoped-for box office recovery derailed by the Hollywood actors’ and writers’ strikes – cinema owners have focused on reinventing the movie-going experience to win back film fans.“We are rolling out 200 of our Ultra Lux seats, which have a built-in champagne or wine cooler, each day across Europe,” says Tim Richards, chief executive and founder of the Vue cinema chain. “Our ‘worst’ seat in the house is a leather recliner, and it is amazingly comfortable

‘Undermines free speech’: Labour MP hits back at US government over visa ban on UK campaigners

A senior Labour MP has accused the Trump administration of undermining free speech after Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, announced sanctions against two British anti-disinformation campaigners.Chi Onwurah, the chair of parliament’s technology select committee, criticised the US government hours after it announced “visa-related” sanctions against five Europeans, including Imran Ahmed and Clare Melford.Ahmed leads the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), while Melford is chief executive of the Global Disinformation Index (GDI), both of which have clashed directly with Elon Musk, the owner of X and a former adviser to the US president.Onwurah said on Wednesday: “Banning people because you disagree with what they say undermines the free speech the administration claims to seek.“We desperately need a wide ranging debate on whether and how social media should be regulated in the interests of the people

Visa ban for European critics of online harm is first shot in US free speech war

For Maga politicians, European tech regulation hits hard in two areas: at the economic interests of Silicon Valley and at their view of free speech.The action against five Europeans who are taking on harmful content and the platforms that host it has had an inevitable feel to it, given the increasingly vociferous reactions to the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) and the UK’s Online Safety Act (OSA). Both pieces of legislation require social media firms to protect users or face the threat of sizeable fines. Indeed, Elon Musk’s X has been fined €120m (£105m) this month for breaching the DSA.These acts are prime examples of what US Republicans see as an anti-free speech culture on the other side of the Atlantic

The ascendant San Antonio Spurs are the gift the NBA needed

I’ve seen enough: Give the San Antonio Spurs the keys to Santa Claus’ workshop. Put Stephon Castle in charge of toy assembly. Let De’Aaron Fox toss presents into chimneys, from whatever range he’d like. Devin Vassell can customize the Christmas cookies. Harrison Barnes has the army of elves covered

England’s MCG triumph is a genuine coup – and a picture of what might have been | Barney Ronay

Na-na na-na na-na na na na, Duckett’s on the piss. On the piss. Duckett’s on the piss.Don’t take me home, please don’t take me home. And while we’re here, stand up, stand up, please do stand up if you love a two-day Test on a pitch as green and ridged as an under-ripe roasting potato