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A bill proposed in February would carve out an exemption to allow President Donald Trump's face to appear on a commemorative $250 US bill. Kent Nishimura/AFP via Getty Images Current US law bars any living person from being portrayed on legal tender. A GOP congressman proposed a bill in February to change the law and put a US president on a note. The Treasury Secretary said his agency is prepared to move forward if the law passes. President Donald Trump could be the first living person in more than 160 years to appear on US paper currency — that is, if current law changes. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed during a press conference on Thursday that his agency has "prepared in advance" to print a $250 bill featuring Trump's likeness to commemorate the country's 250th birthday. Bessent said that his agency will move forward if the legislation to change current US law is passed. "As Treasury Secretary, I have two mandates for US currency. At present, that no living person can be on US currency, and the currency must say, 'In God We Trust,'" Bessent said. "Right now, there is proposed legislation — in front of the House, in front of the Senate — to change the first requirement so that a living person, Donald J. Trump, could be on the $250 bill." Current US law says only deceased individuals may appear on US currency and securities. In 1866, Congress passed a measure known as the Thayer Amendment, which barred portraits or likenesses of living people from US bonds, securities, notes, fractional currency, and postal currency. The measure followed a scandal in which the portrait of Spencer M. Clark, a Treasury Department official, was printed on a 5-cent fractional currency note. In February, Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina introduced a bill that would create an exemption in the ban for individuals who served as president. A spokesperson for the Treasury Department did not respond to a request for comment. Trump's likeness is also set to soon appear on commemorative US coins, and it's already featured on a $1 million "gold card" visa and a banner installed on the Justice Department headquarters. In March, the Treasury Department announced that Trump's signature will appear on future US paper currency, breaking with long-standing tradition in which US banknotes carry the signatures of Treasury officials rather than the president. Bessent said during the Thursday conference that he doesn't believe it's inappropriate to put Trump's face on a currency. "I don't think that there's anything untoward about having the person who was the president of the United States on the 250th anniversary bill," he said. Read the original article on Business Insider

Barbara Moens / Financial Times: Doc: the EU is preparing emergency powers to intervene in Europe's chip supply chains during shortages, including by forcing chipmakers to override contracts  —  Chipmakers could be forced to override existing contracts under draft law  —  The EU is preparing sweeping emergency powers …

Citadel CEO Ken Griffin has a real estate portfolio totaling over $1 billion. Nordin Catic/Getty Images for The Cambridge Union Billionaire Ken Griffin has criticized Mayor Mamdani's second-home tax in New York. Griffin owns the most expensive condo in the US, but he doesn't live there full-time. He has a worldwide real estate portfolio totaling over $1 billion. Citadel CEO Ken Griffin has made his disapproval of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's pied-à-terre tax known. Now, it looks like he'll have to pay it. The joint proposal from Mamdani and Gov. Kathy Hochul to tax multimillion-dollar second homes passed on Wednesday, and will be incorporated into the state's budget. Single-family homes worth $5 million to $15 million will be subjected to a 0.8% surcharge; homes worth between $15 million and $25 million will be taxed an additional 1.05%, and those worth $25 million or more will be taxed an extra 1.3%. The Department of Finance will rely on "assessed values" of homes to determine which are eligible for the first two years, then adjust the tax accordingly after the city works out a new valuation system. The tax has been met with praise from billionaires like Jeff Bezos, who told CNBC that the tax was a "fine thing for New York to do." Other wealthy people, like investors Bill Ackman and Jason Calacanis and President Trump, aren't on board. Griffin called Mamdani's video announcing the tax, which was filmed in front of the Central Park Tower where he bought a penthouse for $238 million in 2019, "creepy and weird." Earlier this month at the Milken conference in Los Angeles, Griffin suggested Citadel would abandon its planned New York office if the tax went through. "Mamdani has made it very clear, New York does not welcome success," he said. Mamdani singled out Griffin because the Citadel CEO's $238 million Central Park penthouse is the most expensive condo in the country — but Griffin doesn't live there most of the year. Griffin is investing in South Florida after relocating his investment firm's headquarters there from Chicago in 2022. Griffin's New York home isn't the only one he owns. See what other properties are part of his $1 billion-plus real estate portfolio. Griffin holds the record for the most expensive residential sale in the US with his NYC penthouse. Griffin's 220 Central Park South residence is the most expensive condo in the US. Gary Hershorn/Getty Images Griffin paid $238 million in 2019 for a penthouse at 220 Central Park South in what is still the most expensive residential sale in the US. A spokeswoman for Griffin told The Wall Street Journal in 2019 that Griffin wanted a place to stay in New York as his firm expanded into the city; however, today he's shifted his focus to Florida. Griffin purchased the 24,000-square-foot, 16-bedroom condo while it was still under construction, but it has since been completed. He also bought two neighboring properties in New York. Griffin also owns another condo a few blocks from Central Park. Sergio Amiti/Getty Images After buying a five-bedroom duplex at 740 Park Avenue for $45 million, Griffin snatched up his next-door neighbor's unit for $38 million in 2025, according to the Wall Street Journal. Griffin spent years — and millions of dollars — assembling properties in Palm Beach, Florida. Crystal Bolin Photography/Getty Images Palm Beach was Griffin's first venture into South Florida when he started buying up oceanfront properties in 2012. Fast-forward to today, and he has amassed 27 acres in Palm Beach for about $450 million. According to the New York Post, Griffin has plans to build a massive estate that could be worth $1 billion. Griffin has moved his life and work to Miami. The construction site of Citadel's office in Miami. Joe Raedle/Getty Images Miami is now the city most associated with Griffin, as he's made his mark there in the last few years. Not only did he relocate Citadel's headquarters from Chicago to Miami, but he also planted himself in South Florida with multiple purchases. Griffin bought two bay-front homes in Coconut Grove, Florida, for $106.9 million in 2022. From 2020 to 2023, spent about $169 million on multiple properties on Star Island — an exclusive neighborhood in Miami. Griffin purchased a Hamptons home owned by a fashion icon. Stan Dzugan/Getty Images The Citadel CEO bought a roughly 7-acre Southampton property formerly owned by Calvin Klein for $84.4 million in a 2020 off-market deal. Klein paid $28.9 million for it in 2003 as a teardown, and built the modern home that stands today, according to the Wall Street Journal. Griffin bought two oceanfront properties in Hawaii years apart for about $28 million total. Stefan Irvine/LightRocket via Getty Images In 2009, Griffin bought an oceanfront property at the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai for $11.38 million. Two years later, Griffin purchased another property, this time for $17 million, after getting a $3 million discount, according to The Wall Street Journal. The second, 0.6-acre property has a 5,600-square-foot home on it. Griffin also owns properties across the pond. Allan Baxter/Getty Images In 2019, Griffin bought a Georgian mansion in London near Buckingham Palace for a reported £95 million (or $127.7 million). A spokesperson told the Financial Times that the property is a "historic property with a spectacular location, extraordinary elegance and stunning gardens." The home was on the market for two years at £125 million before Griffin outbid other prospective investors. He also owns property in France. Aleh Varanishcha/Getty Images In 2024, Griffin continued his investment overseas and bought a 2-acre waterfront estate in St. Tropez, France, for more than $90 million, according to the Journal. The property, which has multiple buildings, was previously owned by photographer Gunter Sachs. Read the original article on Business Insider

Substack's Hamish McKenzie is working on tools to keep big publishers happy. Shedrick Pelt for The Washington Post via Getty Images Substack cofounder Hamish McKenzie said the platform is working on tools to serve bigger publishers. The Ankler recently exited Substack in pursuit of greater control and flexibility. McKenzie said Substack is making progress on features like customized designs and sponsorships. Substack wants to keep big media companies from outgrowing its platform. The Ankler, one of Substack's top publications, recently defected, citing the need for more control and flexibility. The Hollywood-focused media company left for Passport, a new platform created by WordPress.com owner Automattic and Stratechery founder Ben Thompson. Other Substack rivals like Beehiiv and Ghost have cropped up, pitching flat fees rather than the commission-based model Substack uses. Speaking to Business Insider on Thursday at Substack's New York media confab, "The Once and Future Media Forum," cofounder Hamish McKenzie said The Ankler wanted to do display advertising, which Substack doesn't offer. He added that the solopreneur-rooted company is developing tools for higher-volume publishers. He pointed to a pilot Substack announced in 2022 with Bari Weiss-led The Free Press to give it a customized brand presence on Substack. Other features Substack developed for The Free Press include a metered paywall and analytics tools. McKenzie said Substack has learned "a hell of a lot" about how to better serve such publications. "We're generalizing those tools now so that more people who want to start fully-fledged media businesses with multiple editors and writers, and video and community features, can take advantage of them and we can support them," he said. "It doesn't mean that 100% of the people are always going to be completely satisfied with the existing feature set, but we're making really fast progress on it." McKenzie said other publishers besides The Free Press were eager to have their own customized presence. "They feel like their visually distinctive brand is very important to helping them distinguish themselves in the marketplace and not be seen as just another Substack," he said. What about advertising? McKenzie said on Thursday that the platform was "pretty close" to fully rolling out a sponsorship marketplace. It recently started piloting the effort with select authors, including OG Substacker Bill Bishop of "Sinocism." He said the revenue split could be similar to the 10% cut Substack takes from subscriptions. Read the original article on Business Insider

Jordan Novet / CNBC: Dell reports Q1 revenue up 88% YoY to $43.84B, vs. $35.43B est., and forecasts FY 2027 revenue above estimates; DELL jumps 38%+ after hours  —  Dell reported its fastest pace of revenue growth for any period since its return to the public market more than seven years ago, and topped analysts' estimates for sales and profit.

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Brody Ford / Bloomberg: Autodesk agrees to buy MaintainX, a company focused on maintenance tools, in an all-cash deal that values MaintainX at $3.6B  —  Engineering software maker Autodesk Inc. has agreed to buy MaintainX, a firm focused on maintenance tools.  —  The all-cash deal will value MaintainX at $3.6 billion, Autodesk said in a statement Thursday.

Samantha Subin / CNBC: Snowflake stock closed up 36% on Thursday, its best day ever, after the company boosted guidance and announced an AI compute deal with Amazon  —  Software stocks popped on Thursday after Snowflake said it plans to spend $6 billion on compute from Amazon and topped earnings estimates on artificial intelligence momentum.

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<p><strong>Tool:</strong> <a href="https://tools.simonwillison.net/markdown-svg-renderer">markdown-svg-renderer</a></p> <p>A slightly customized Markdown rendering tool with special treatment for fenced code SVG blocks - it both renders the image and provides a tab for switching to the code view.</p> <p>You can paste in Markdown or give it a URL to a CORS-enabled Markdown file or Gist. <a href="https://tools.simonwillison.net/markdown-svg-renderer#url=https%3A%2F%2Fgist.github.com%2Fsimonw%2Ffea4f7546626d627862dc241a4e3a86a">Here's an example</a> where it loads a Markdown file full of LLM pelican logs for <a href="https://simonwillison.net/2026/May/28/claude-opus-4-8/#and-some-pelicans">Opus 4.8</a>.</p> <p>Tags: <a href="https://simonwillison.net/tags/svg">svg</a>, <a href="https://simonwillison.net/tags/tools">tools</a>, <a href="https://simonwillison.net/tags/markdown">markdown</a>, <a href="https://simonwillison.net/tags/cors">cors</a></p>

There are easy swaps you can make to upgrade your bedroom. Followtheflow/Shutterstock Interior designers shared easy swaps you can make in your bedroom to elevate your space.  To liven up a room, add a colorful duvet and a fun selection of throw pillows. Replace nightstand lamps with wall sconces to reduce clutter while maintaining light.  When it comes to decorating a bedroom, not every upgrade has to be expensive or time-consuming to make a huge impact. We asked interior designers to share some of their favorite easy swaps people can make to elevate their space and make it look — and feel — even better. Here's what they said. Instead of a basic nightstand, use one with drawers or covered storage to reduce clutter. New Africa/Shutterstock Sarah Barnard, interior designer and founder of Sarah Barnard Design, told Business Insider that nightstands can quickly accumulate a variety of odds and ends, creating visual clutter. So, it's worth choosing a design that's got more than just a flat surface. "Opting for a nightstand with drawers or covered storage keeps items close at hand while maintaining visual calm," Barnard said. These types of nightstands also offer more privacy, especially in shared spaces. Replace your table lamp with a wall sconce to reduce clutter. Ekachai Sathittaweechai/Shutterstock As mentioned, it's easy for a nightstand to look cluttered. To further avoid this, you can swap the table lamp for a wall sconce, said Jaime Zehner, interior designer and founder of JZ Interior Designs.  Doing so can both add light and open more space on top of your nightstand. If you're not ready to commit to having these installed with electrical work, consider trying battery-operated options. Update the rugs in your space to give it a fresh feel. BCFC/Shutterstock Swapping out your rug can have a big impact on the overall feel and appearance of the space, according to Karen Rohr, interior designer at Mackenzie Collier Interiors.  "Changing out your rug is an easy and affordable way to give your bedroom a fresh, new look," Rohr said.  You can even incorporate rugs in rooms with wall-to-wall carpet — just layer them on top, the designer added. This can help create an inviting and cozy space that's perfect for relaxing in. Add a beautiful piece of art to your wall in place of a television. Ground Picture/Shutterstock After a long day, your bedroom should be the place where you can finally shut off for the night. So if you have a TV in your room, Barnard suggested replacing it with a soothing work of art.  "Our bodies take cues from our surroundings, and if the first thing we see when getting into bed is a television screen, we are more inclined to watch TV before bed, which may disrupt our sleep," Barnard told BI. The designer added that keeping art in the bedroom could even help ease the mind and encourage quiet reflection.  Instead of leaving "dead corners," fill them with plants to add color and life to a space. Plants can liven up a space. Floral Deco/Shutterstock "Dead corners" are empty areas of a room where the furniture doesn't quite fit or the light doesn't quite reach. As a result, these spots can often feel lifeless and uninviting. Rohr suggested bringing life into your bedroom by using these empty corners for greenery. Plants can help brighten up a space and add a touch of nature. Switch out conventional pillows for more decorative ones. Use pillows of different shapes and sizes to add visual interest to your bed. Dariusz Jarzabek/Shutterstock To add more visual interest and make the space feel cozier, Rohr suggested layering the bed with a variety of pillows instead of a set of standard ones.  "The different shapes, colors, and patterns will immediately make your bed look much more interesting," Rohr told BI. "This not only adds pops of color and texture but also helps to create an overall sense of comfort and coziness." By adding layers to the bed, Rohr said, you can make your entire room feel like a cozy nook for relaxing and unwinding.  Fresh flowers and herbs can create natural aromas in place of candles. New Africa/Shutterstock Instead of relying on candles for a relaxing fragrance, Barnard recommended a more natural alternative: placing bouquets of fresh, fragrant herbs and flowers in your bedroom. "Their natural aromas may be a welcome alternative to candles … and they will add natural beauty to your bedroom space," Barnard said. Some great options include eucalyptus, mint, lavender, thyme, and jasmine. Swap out a plain duvet for something colorful or patterned. New Africa/Shutterstock New bedding is also a great way to bring fresh energy and excitement to the room. "Whether you opt for soft, fluffy pillows or bright, rich sheets, new bedding can instantly transform the look and feel of your bedroom," Rohr said.  Adding a pop of color or pattern can instantly make a space feel more inviting.  Replace solid-colored walls with wallpapered ones. robinimages2013/Shutterstock Zehner told BI that you can give your bedroom more pizazz without adding furniture by applying wallpaper to subtly painted walls. "I suggest something in a small pattern so it isn't too distracting," the designer said. "This adds so much charm to the room, and when done right, it allows for the fundamental pieces of the room to stand out." Peel-and-stick wallpaper can be an easy, often renter-friendly way to achieve this look. New curtains can give a room an instant update. Edvard Nalbantjan/Shutterstock "The curtains you choose can set the tone for your entire space," Rohr told BI. "So finding a pair that reflects your style and makes you feel relaxed and comfortable is essential." By choosing heavier curtains with a bold pattern or in a rich color, for example, you can instantly transform your bedroom into a cozy retreat. On the other hand, a sheer, lightweight curtain may make a space feel bright and breezy. This story was originally published in October 2022, and most recently updated on May 28, 2026. Read the original article on Business Insider

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