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A harpoon gun from “Jaws,” a jacket worn by “The Terminator,” and a “Star Wars” lightsaber hilt and C-3PO head are among the eye-catching items to be sold at auction next month.The collection of around 1,550 pieces of film and TV history will go under the hammer over three days from March 25, with in-room bidding on the first day only at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.From props to costumes, a selection of the memorabilia will also go on show for a day — on March 11 — at The Maybourne Beverly Hills hotel.The lots, which also include the so-called Marauder’s Map from the “Harry Potter” films, have a combined pre-sale estimate of $9 million, according to Propstore, the auctioneers staging the sale.It noted that buyers from around the world, who increasingly utilise online bidding, were forging a new global collectors market.”We’re seeing 20 to 30 percent more engagement, more registration, more people bidding,” Ibrahim Faraj, Propstore’s UK consignments manager, explained at a media preview of some British-based items before they headed to California.”It’s growing bigger and it’s the new, modern thing people are collecting now.”- ‘Star Wars history’ -The fibreglass C-3PO head worn by “Star Wars” stalwart Anthony Daniels in “The Empire Strikes Back” (1980) is near the top of the pricing charts, with an estimate of $350,000 to $700,000.Featuring illuminated eyes in the film, and with original wiring in the right socket, this particular C-3PO head boasts several unique features including a forehead antenna.”These things rarely come up… so it’s quite exciting,” Faraj said. Another “Star Wars” piece of memorabilia on offer is the lightsaber hilt from “The Force Awakens,” which is valued at up to $100,000.”This is no ordinary lightsaber,” he noted, branding it “the Skywalker” version as it was used by Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and Rey (Daisy Ridley).They rediscover it in the 2015 installment after prior generations wield it — albeit another model — in earlier franchise films.”It’s arguably one of the most important pieces in ‘Star Wars’ history,” Faraj argued.- ‘Absolutely brilliant’ -The harpoon gun wielded by Quint (Robert Shaw) and Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) in Steven Spielberg’s 1975 favourite “Jaws” is expected to generate similar buzz.Estimated to fetch up to $500,000, it is being offered alongside Quint’s Fenwick fishing rod and reel, which featured during the film’s early shark encounter scenes.The rod is priced at up to $150,000, with Propstore branding the two props “the most significant artifacts to ever surface from the movie” at auction.The jacket from the 1984 cult classic “The Terminator” will require similarly deep pockets, with a price estimate of $75,000 to $150,000.It was worn during the first half of the film, after the T-800 cyborg steals and wears it through several violent sequences.Featuring a leather collar, metal chains over the left shoulder, and metal studs on the back, it has been heavily distressed with stage blood, rips, mock bullet holes, and burns. Two top lots from Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator” (2000) will also be offered, including the helmet and mask worn by Maximus (Russell Crowe) in his arena battles. That is predicted to go for up to $250,000.Meanwhile the rare Marauder’s Map joins other “Harry Potter” movie props in the auction and is expected to fetch up to $80,000.”It pops up, it opens out, it’s absolutely brilliant,” Faraj said.

A man sentenced to death nearly 40 years ago for the murder of a grocery store owner was executed by lethal injection in Florida on Tuesday.Melvin Trotter, 65, was convicted of the 1986 murder of Virgie Langford, 70, during a robbery of her store in Palmetto, Florida.Authorities executed Trotter at 6:15 pm (2315 GMT), the state Department of Corrections said.There have been three previous executions in the United States this year, one in Florida, one in Oklahoma and one in Texas.There were 47 executions in the United States last year, the most since 2009, when 52 inmates were put to death.Florida carried out the most executions in 2025 — 19 — followed by Alabama, South Carolina and Texas, where there were five each.Thirty-nine of last year’s executions were carried out by lethal injection.Three were by firing squad and five by nitrogen hypoxia, which involves pumping nitrogen gas into a face mask, causing the prisoner to suffocate.The use of nitrogen gas as a method of capital punishment has been denounced by United Nations experts as cruel and inhumane.The death penalty has been abolished in 23 of the 50 US states, while three others — California, Oregon and Pennsylvania — have moratoriums in place.President Donald Trump is a proponent of capital punishment and has called for an expansion of its use “for the vilest crimes.”

Victims of Jeffrey Epstein will attend US President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday and are seeking accountability for the crimes of the convicted sex offender, lawmakers said.”Today the world will see Donald Trump have to face these survivors right there in the House gallery,” Representative Pramila Jayapal, a Democrat from Washington state, said at a press conference.”Ambassadors and princes have been arrested in other countries,” Jayapal said. “But here in America, not a single investigation has been announced into the pedophiles and predators of Epstein’s horrific sex trafficking ring.””We demand investigations right here at home,” Jayapal said at the press conference attended by several victims of Epstein, who died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking.Only one person has been arrested or convicted in the United States in connection with the activities of Epstein — Ghislaine Maxwell, his ex-girlfriend and accomplice.Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence after being found guilty in 2021 of providing minor girls to the wealthy and well-connected financier, whose friends once included Trump.While there have been no prosecutions beyond Maxwell, several prominent Americans have resigned from high-profile positions after files made public revealed they maintained relations with Epstein after his 2008 conviction for sex offenses.Lisa Phillips, an Epstein victim, called for every country to launch “independent investigations into every single person of power” named in the Epstein files released by the US Justice Department.”Some may have committed no crimes. Some may have. But every person connected to wrongdoing and Epstein’s world in any nation must be investigated, and, if appropriate, held accountable,” Phillips said.Trump fought for months to prevent release of the Epstein files but eventually signed the law passed by Congress requiring their publication. The 79-year-old Republican’s name appears in the files repeatedly but he has not been charged with any wrongdoing.

Fifteen Democratic-run US states announced Tuesday they are suing President Donald Trump’s administration over its reduction in the number of recommended pediatric vaccines, which they criticize as contrary to science.The reform, announced in January by the US Department of Health and Human Services led by long-time vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr, means the country is no longer recommending that every child receive immunizations against several diseases, including rotavirus, influenza and Covid-19.Instead the seven vaccines in question are being recommended only for those children at particular risk, a move that upends years of scientifically backed recommendations that reduced disease with routine shots.”Secretary RFK Jr. and his CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) are flouting decades of scientific research, ignoring credible medical experts, and threatening to strain state resources and make America’s children sicker,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta, leading the lawsuit with his Arizona counterpart, said at a press conference.Kennedy is named as a defendant, along with the CDC and Department of Health and Human Services.The other vaccines stripped of their universally recommended status are for hepatitis A, meningococcal disease, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and the highly infectious hepatitis B virus.- ‘Leaves kids unprotected’ -Washington’s reorientation of the childhood vaccination schedule has raised concerns within the medical community. The Trump administration justified its actions last month by saying it was putting the US vaccination policies more in line with those of other countries, citing Denmark as an example.Some health experts point to Denmark as being a small, homogeneous country with a low prevalence of disease and a centralized health care system that guarantees universal access to care.Such conditions do not apply to the United States, where the largely privatized health care system is less comprehensive than in northern Europe and has left millions of Americans uninsured.”Copying Denmark’s vaccine schedule without copying Denmark’s health care system doesn’t give families more options — it just leaves kids unprotected from serious diseases,” Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said at the press conference.Vaccine skepticism has risen in the United States since Trump returned to the presidency 13 months ago. Vaccination rates have been declining since the Covid pandemic, raising fears of a resurgence in deadly and contagious diseases like measles.The issue has become deeply political, with California Governor Gavin Newsom, a fierce Trump critic and potential 2028 presidential candidate, weighing in.”California is going back to court because the Trump administration is violating federal law and pushing a reckless, unscientific childhood vaccine schedule that puts kids’ lives at risk,” Newsom said in a statement. The 58-year-old Democrat said undermining confidence in vaccines will lead to lower vaccination rates and more cases of infectious disease.Other states filing the lawsuit include Colorado, Michigan, New Jersey and Wisconsin.

The Trump administration sued the University of California (UC) on Tuesday, accusing it of turning a “blind eye” to antisemitism on its Los Angeles campus during student protests against Israel. The lawsuit comes more than six months after President Donald Trump demanded a massive $1 billion fine from the prestigious UC system over claims of antisemitism.The lawsuit filed by the Justice Department in a federal court in California demands unspecified damages to be awarded to Jewish and Israeli employees of the university and alleges they were subjected to a hostile work environment.”Following the October 7, 2023 massacre in Israel, UCLA’s administration turned a blind eye to — and at times facilitated — grossly antisemitic acts and systematically ignored cries for help from its own terrified Jewish and Israeli employees,” the complaint said.Attorney General Pam Bondi said UCLA administrators “allegedly allowed virulent antisemitism to flourish on campus, harming students and staff alike.”Today’s lawsuit underscores that this Department of Justice stands strong against hate and antisemitism in all its vile forms,” Bondi said in a statement.California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat who sits on the UC board, accused Trump of “extortion” when he made his $1 billion demand from the university in August, accusing the Republican president of trying to stifle academic freedom.Columbia University was the first to be targeted in Trump’s war against elite universities, for what the US president claimed was its failure to tackle antisemitism on campus in the wake of pro-Palestinian protests.It was stripped of hundreds of millions of dollars of federal funding and lost its ability to apply for new research grants.Columbia eventually agreed to pay the government $200 million, and an additional $21 million to settle an investigation into antisemitism on campus.Trump has demanded that Harvard pay $1 billion in damages for allegedly failing to sufficiently protect Jewish students during pro-Palestinian protests.The Justice Department also sued Harvard this month demanding its student admissions data.In a 2023 ruling, the Supreme Court barred consideration of race in college admissions and the Justice Department is investigating whether any US schools are discriminating against white applicants.Trump has previously sought to cut more than $2.6 billion of federal funding to Harvard, and has moved to block entry of international students — a quarter of its student body.Those moves have largely been temporarily blocked by the courts. 

Warner Bros. Discovery said Tuesday it has received a revised acquisition proposal from Paramount Skydance, signaling that the offer could open the door to the company rethinking its deal with Netflix.The sweetened offer was the latest installment of a bidding war set to reshape Hollywood and US media, and has drawn White House attention, with President Donald Trump insisting he will have a say on the outcome.In a significant development, Warner Bros. Discovery’s board said Tuesday that Paramount’s revised bid “could reasonably be expected to lead to” a superior proposal to the existing Netflix deal — a key legal threshold that would allow for more formal negotiations with Paramount.Warner Bros. said Paramount’s revised offer includes a purchase price of $31.00 per share in cash, a one-dollar-per-share increase from its earlier offer, which was valued at around $108 billion.Paramount has also offered to cover the $2.8 billion termination fee Warner Bros. would owe Netflix if it walked away from their deal, and pledged a $7 billion fee payable to Warner Bros. should the Paramount transaction fail to close due to regulatory hurdles.Questions are swirling over whether politics will influence the outcome of the battle, with Paramount run by David Ellison and the transaction financed largely by his father, Oracle tycoon Larry Ellison, a longtime Trump ally.Trump has said he will be “involved” in any decision on the merger, and the US Department of Justice is currently reviewing Netflix’s proposed acquisition. European authorities and other regulators will also have their say.A victory by Paramount would see news outlet CNN — often the target of Trump’s threats and criticism — pass to Ellison family control, amid criticism that their takeover of Paramount-owned CBS brought changes more to the White House’s liking.The Netflix offer does not include Warner Bros. television properties such as CNN and Discovery, which would belong to a newly created publicly traded company if the deal is sealed.- Review ongoing -The Warner Bros. board stressed it had not yet concluded that Paramount’s offer was superior to Netflix’s, and that it would continue talks with Paramount to determine if that bar could be met. If it was, Netflix would have four business days to come back with a counter-offer.Earlier in the day, Warner Bros. acknowledged the new offer but said its deal with Netflix “remains in effect” and that board members “continue to recommend in favor of the Netflix transaction,” stressing it was not withdrawing its recommendation.Warner Bros. shareholders were advised to take no action with respect to the Paramount offer while the review is ongoing.Netflix is offering $83 billion for its more limited merger but is expected to be prepared to raise its offer to more closely match its rival’s new bid.Trump late Saturday called on Netflix to fire board member Susan Rice or “pay the consequences,” after she said Democrats would push for corporate accountability if they regain power in the November midterm elections.”He likes to do a lot of things on social media. This is a business deal. It’s not a political deal,” Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos told BBC Radio 4, when asked about Trump’s threat.

The United States and France on Tuesday sought to smooth over a diplomatic row after Washington’s ambassador failed to turn up for a dressing down from France’s foreign minister over comments about the killing of a young far-right activist.Charles Kushner had been summoned to meet Jean-Noel Barrot on Monday in the wake of the US administration denouncing what it called “terrorism” and left-wing violence in France after the fatal beating of Quentin Deranque.When he did not turn up, France blocked the ambassador — whose son Jared is married to Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka — from having access to government ministers until he explained himself.But on Tuesday, both sides said a call between the pair had now taken place.A member of Barrot’s team told AFP the minister “reiterated the reasons that had led to the summons: France cannot accept any form of interference or manipulation of its national public debate by the authorities of a third country”.”The ambassador took note, expressed his willingness not to interfere in our public debate, and recalled the friendship that binds France and the United States.”A US Embassy spokesperson said Kushner made the call, describing it as “frank and amicable”.France has repeatedly said it will not tolerate attempts to intervene in its domestic affairs and use tragedy for political purposes.Barrot earlier on Tuesday said Kushner would only be able to resume his duties after he provided an explanation over his failure to respect “the most basic customs of diplomacy”. He urged him to explain himself “so that he can resume the normal exercise of his duties as ambassador”.”It’s the basics,” a visibly irritated Barrot told broadcaster France Info, calling Kushner’s no-show a “surprise”.Kushner, 71, a multimillionaire real estate developer and former attorney who spent time in prison for tax evasion and other crimes before being pardoned by Trump in 2020, is not a professional diplomat.He was previously summoned to the French ministry last year but skipped that meeting as well, sending an official instead. – ‘Creating difficulties’ -“He is creating difficulties for himself, because for an ambassador to be able to do his job, he needs to have access to members of the government,” Barrot said earlier Tuesday.”Once explanations have been provided, the US ambassador to France will naturally regain access to the French government.” A diplomatic source had told AFP the ambassador cited “personal commitments” and sent a senior embassy official instead.Barrot stressed that the incident would not affect the Franco-US relationship on the whole.But he reiterated: “We do not accept that foreign countries can come and interfere in, then insert themselves into, our national political debate, whatever the circumstances.”I believe all French people share the same feeling.”Deranque, 23, died from head injuries following clashes between radical-left and far-right supporters on the sidelines of a protest against a politician from the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party in Lyon on February 12. His death has sparked tensions in France.Barrot said Paris also wished to raise the issue of US sanctions against several European figures, including former European commissioner Thierry Breton.Kushner’s behaviour raised eyebrows even among US diplomats.”One of the basic rules is that when you are summoned by the host country’s foreign minister, you show up. On time,” Charles Shapiro, a former US ambassador to Venezuela, said on X. “It’s not optional.”In December 2024, Trump defended the choice of Kushner as France’s envoy.”It’s a great thing because he’s in our family,” Trump told the French magazine Paris Match.

The northeast United States was grappling Tuesday with the fallout of a huge winter storm, with many schools closed and some 300,000 homes and businesses lacking power. More than two feet of snow blanketed much of the region from Sunday into Monday, with coastal areas of Rhode Island and Massachusetts particularly hard hit. In these areas, non-essential driving was still restricted.Around 2,000 flights were canceled and nearly 1,000 delayed nationwide on Tuesday, mainly at Boston and New York airports, according to the travel monitor FlightAware. More than 9,000 flights had already been canceled on Sunday and Monday.For the first time in 153 years, The Boston Globe did not deliver its daily edition on Tuesday because blizzard conditions “made it impossible to print and deliver a paper.”Around lunchtime, more than 240,000 homes and businesses were without power in Massachusetts, 28,000 in New Jersey and 20,000 in Delaware, according to tracking website PowerOutage.com. The number had totaled 650,000 at the height of the storm, which was also marked by wind gusts exceeding 62 mph (100 kmh).Snowfall in much smaller amounts is expected again in the northeast United States overnight Tuesday.

US President Donald Trump will try to sell voters on the economy during his State of the Union address Tuesday, despite suffering a series of stinging blows ahead of crucial midterm elections this year.After a breakneck first year back in power, Trump is suffering from low approval ratings while the Supreme Court last week struck down the global tariffs at the heart of the Republican’s economic agenda.But Trump will declare to Congress that America is “strong, prosperous and respected” as it prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said.Trump will “proudly tout his administration’s many record-breaking accomplishments” and lay out an “ambitious agenda to continue bringing the American Dream back for working people,” she added.The 79-year-old president himself warned on Monday that the first official State of the Union of his second term was “going to be a long speech because we have so much to talk about.”The world will meanwhile be watching for hints from Trump about possible military action against Iran, with a huge US military build-up pressing Tehran to make a deal on its nuclear program.US media reported that Trump would devote part of the speech to foreign policy, insisting on what his administration calls a “peace through strength” strategy following a series of military interventions including in Venezuela.Secretary of State Marco Rubio was due to brief House and Senate leaders at the White House ahead of the speech.- ‘Fools and lapdogs’ -The speech comes at a politically fraught moment for Trump, whose poll ratings are a worry for Republicans and the White House ahead of November’s midterm elections. If they lose their wafer-thin majority in the House it could paralyze the rest of Trump’s second term — and put him at the risk of a possible third impeachment.Speaking in front of the very same Supreme Court justices he branded “fools and lapdogs” for striking down his tariffs last Friday, Trump is expected to issue a strong defense of his levies.Trump’s economic message will meanwhile focus on what he claims is success in cutting inflation, boosting jobs and manufacturing, and restoring what he calls a “Golden Age” of America.But the billionaire president has yet to convince many voters who are still worried about the cost of living — something he has repeatedly dismissed as an “affordability hoax.”A Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll published on Sunday showed his approval rating at 39 percent. Only 41 percent approved of his handling of the economy overall, and just 32 percent on inflation.- Guest list -Trump’s other signature policy, his promise to deport undocumented migrants, is more popular. But polls show most Americans think the crackdowns in which two US citizens were shot dead last month in Minneapolis have gone too far.Democrats are lining up responses including boycotts and silent protests for the address — mandated by the US Constitution, which says that the president shall “from time to time give to the Congress information of the State of the Union.” Adding to the interest will be the guests that both Republicans and Democrats bring to watch the address from the gallery, part of a long tradition.Trump has invited the US men’s ice hockey team after they won Olympic gold. But the women’s team said they were declining Trump’s invitation, US media reported.The president was also inviting Erika Kirk, the widow of assassinated right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, and a trans teen whose mother sued a high school over claims officials hid the fact that the child’s was transitioning.Two Democratic members of the House of Representatives said they were bringing as guests the family members of a victim of disgraced late financier Jeffrey Epstein.Trump has denied any links to sex offender Epstein but the scandal continues to nag at his presidency.

An American convicted of killing the mother of his then-pregnant teenage girlfriend at an Indonesian luxury hotel was deported Tuesday after his early release from prison, immigration authorities said.Tommy Schaefer, 32, was released last week from prison on the island of Bali and moved to an immigration detention facility there on Friday. He boarded a flight late Tuesday bound for the United States, a local immigration official confirmed to AFP.A Bali court sentenced Schaefer in 2015 to 18 years in prison for the murder of Sheila von Wiese Mack. He was released seven years early for good behaviour.”After TS completed his sentence, our duty is to ensure that he is not within our sovereign territory, considering that the serious crime he committed has disturbed public order and prevailing legal norms,” local immigration agency head Felucia Sengky Ratna said, referring to Schaefer by his initials.Heather Mack, Schaefer’s then-girlfriend, was given 10 years on a lesser charge of assisting what was dubbed the “suitcase murder.” She was deported in 2021, and according to the US Justice Department, is currently serving a 26-year sentence in the United States for conspiracy to murder her mother.Schaefer, the father of Mack’s child, beat the 62-year-old victim to death with a fruit bowl during an argument at the five-star St. Regis resort on Bali.The couple then stuffed the woman’s body into a suitcase and tried to flee with it in a taxi but quickly abandoned the blood-soaked luggage.Speaking ahead of his deportation late Tuesday, Schaefer apologized to the family of von Wiese Mack.”I’m sorry. I’ve always been sorry. I’ve always been apologetic,” he told AFP.”I was pushed into the situation but I do take full responsibility for everything that I’ve done and I wish the family of Sheila peace.” The 2014 murder shook the usually sedate holiday island, with details of the grisly killing emerging during the closely followed trial.Schaefer confessed to the killing but claimed he was defending himself during an argument with von Wiese Mack, who was unhappy that her daughter was pregnant.Prosecutors alleged that Schaefer, who is Black, “blindly hit” von Wiese Mack with the fruit bowl in a fit of rage after she hurled a racial slur at him.