Trump Solo: First Lady, Children Out of Frame in New Term 

US First Lady Melania Trump (L) and President Donald Trump attend the 2025 Easter Egg Roll event on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, USA 21 April 2025. (EPA)
US First Lady Melania Trump (L) and President Donald Trump attend the 2025 Easter Egg Roll event on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, USA 21 April 2025. (EPA)
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Trump Solo: First Lady, Children Out of Frame in New Term 

US First Lady Melania Trump (L) and President Donald Trump attend the 2025 Easter Egg Roll event on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, USA 21 April 2025. (EPA)
US First Lady Melania Trump (L) and President Donald Trump attend the 2025 Easter Egg Roll event on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, USA 21 April 2025. (EPA)

First Lady Melania Trump, relatively out of public view during her husband's first term, has been even more off-grid this time around.

In the first 100 days since Donald Trump returned to office, the first lady has appeared at only a handful of public events. It is unclear how many days she has even spent in Washington.

Trump's other family members have similarly been missing from the White House, but most are not shying away from the public spotlight.

Here is a look at what Trump's family is -- or isn't -- up to early in his second term:

- Whither Melania? -

When the president has returned from Florida -- where he spends nearly every weekend -- it is neither the first lady nor any other family member exiting the helicopter with him, but often his billionaire aide Elon Musk and Musk's young son.

Apart from fueling further speculation of marital strife, Melania Trump's absence from this weekly ritual highlights what Ohio University history professor Katherine Jellison calls a "major and very noticeable" shift from precedent.

"She's quite different from every first lady for a couple of generations at least, more than a couple of generations. I would have to go all the way back to Bess Truman in the late '40s and early '50s to find such a low-profile first lady," Jellison told AFP.

"Weeks and weeks go by and the American public doesn't really see her."

So what has she been up to? The public may eventually get a glimpse via a documentary series she is filming with Amazon, under a contract reportedly worth tens of millions of dollars.

Jaded by the critiques of her previous tenure as first lady, Melania Trump, 54, seems determined to "get the upper hand and have more control over her public image," Jellison said.

"I think the American people in general still feel they don't know her, and maybe this... is her attempting to tell us who she is, but on her own terms."

- Older Kids -

During Donald Trump's first term, his daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner held important White House advisory roles -- but not this time.

Ivanka has stated she wants to spend more time with her children, while Jared is managing a private equity fund.

Elder sons Don Jr. and Eric continue to run the Trump family business, which now includes, controversially, a growing cryptocurrency portfolio.

Unlike Ivanka, they both frequently take to social media to tout their father's MAGA agenda.

Don Jr. -- known for his ability to tap into the Trump base -- is especially vocal and hosts a twice-weekly podcast, "Triggered," which recently had Secretary of State Marco Rubio as an "exclusive guest."

Eric's wife Lara Trump, who co-led the national Republican Party during last year's campaign, now hosts a weekly Fox News show. It also frequently includes administration officials as guests.

The Trump family has continued to "capitalize on their roles as the First Family," Jellison said, in what previously would have been considered "quite taboo behavior."

Meanwhile, Tiffany Trump -- the president's only child with his second wife Marla Maples -- is expecting a child with husband Michael Boulos, and has remained out of the spotlight.

The president has, however, tapped Michael's wealthy father Massad Boulos, a Lebanese-born businessman with extensive experience in Nigeria, to be his senior advisor for Africa, and an advisor on Middle Eastern affairs.

- Generation Z -

Barron, the president's only child with Melania, has grown up a lot since his father's first term.

The 19-year-old, now a towering six-foot-seven-inches (2.01 meters), is studying business at New York University. He won MAGA admirers with his brief inauguration appearances, but has since remained out of public view.

Donald Trump's camp has credited Barron's advice on new media, such as podcasts and TikTok, as helping him win over young men voters.

Kai Trump, daughter of Don Jr. and ex-wife Vanessa Trump, has a growing social media following, especially on TikTok.

The 17-year-old, who notably spoke at last year's Republican National Convention, posts frequent video blogs showing her life as an amateur golfer, as well as sharing behind-the-scenes moments with "grandpa."



World’s Largest Whale Graveyard Discovered by Chinese Sub

This handout photograph taken by Global TREnD, IDSSE, seven kilometers under the sea on the deep seafloor of the Diamantina Zone in the Indian Ocean in 2023 and released on June 10, 2026, shows whale bones at the world's biggest known whale graveyard discovered by the Chinese submersible Fendouzhe. (Handout / Global TREnD, IDSSE / AFP)
This handout photograph taken by Global TREnD, IDSSE, seven kilometers under the sea on the deep seafloor of the Diamantina Zone in the Indian Ocean in 2023 and released on June 10, 2026, shows whale bones at the world's biggest known whale graveyard discovered by the Chinese submersible Fendouzhe. (Handout / Global TREnD, IDSSE / AFP)
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World’s Largest Whale Graveyard Discovered by Chinese Sub

This handout photograph taken by Global TREnD, IDSSE, seven kilometers under the sea on the deep seafloor of the Diamantina Zone in the Indian Ocean in 2023 and released on June 10, 2026, shows whale bones at the world's biggest known whale graveyard discovered by the Chinese submersible Fendouzhe. (Handout / Global TREnD, IDSSE / AFP)
This handout photograph taken by Global TREnD, IDSSE, seven kilometers under the sea on the deep seafloor of the Diamantina Zone in the Indian Ocean in 2023 and released on June 10, 2026, shows whale bones at the world's biggest known whale graveyard discovered by the Chinese submersible Fendouzhe. (Handout / Global TREnD, IDSSE / AFP)

The world's largest whale graveyard has been discovered at the bottom of the Indian Ocean by Chinese scientists, who found that the vast expanse of both new and ancient carcasses supports huge communities of deep-sea life.

It is also the deepest and oldest known whale graveyard on Earth, according to research published in the journal Nature on Wednesday, with some fossils dating back 5.3 million years.

From inside a small submersible, the Chinese researchers saw many strange animals -- many believed to be new to science -- living off the whale carcasses.

A new, though extinct, species of whale was also identified among the nearly 500 skeletons found up to 7,000 meters deep along a 1,200 kilometer corridor of bones in the Indian Ocean west of Australia.

Lead study author Xiaotong Peng of the Chinese Academy of Sciences told AFP that the researchers were "astonished" when the scale of their discovery became clear.

It was known that when whales die and drop to the seafloor, their sunken bodies -- called "whale falls" -- provide a source of food to deep-sea creatures.

"But discovering a necropolis of this scale was completely unexpected: the size of distribution, the depth and the age range were far beyond anything we had imagined," Xiaotong Peng said.

The whales were believed to have died in such numbers in this particular area because it is a popular foraging habitat -- and has a V-shaped trench that funnels carcasses to the seafloor.

- 'Truly incredible experience' -

For the discovery, the Fendouzhe submersible carried out 32 dives in 2023 -- though what it found was only revealed in Nature on Wednesday.

The sub took up to three people on the dives, collecting the fossil samples using robotic arms.

Study co-author Peng Zhou said witnessing the whale graveyard "was a truly incredible experience".

"The vibrant ecosystems we saw offered a completely different perspective on this otherwise dark and cold ocean floor."

Among the animals they discovered living off the carcasses were jellyfish, brittle stars, bone-boring worms and mollusks called bivalves.

Most of the 485 fossils the scientists catalogued were from different species of beaked whales.

Extrapolating from the number of bones they found, the scientists estimated there could be more than 10 million carcasses across the area, which is called the Diamantina Zone.

The soft tissue and lipids inside that many carcasses "translates to roughly 6.7 million tons of sequestered carbon," Xiaotong Peng said.

This provides an immense source of sustenance for animals, similar to how hydrothermal vents create their own ecosystems on the ocean floor.

Some of the animals seen by the scientists also live in hydrothermal vents and cold seeps, suggesting whale carcasses could help connect these deep-sea communities.

While this is by far the largest whale graveyard yet found, fossils found during trawling suggest there could be others off South Africa, the Iberian peninsula and the Crozet islands, said the study.

- 'More blockbusters to come'? -

University of Hawaii oceanographer Craig Smith, who discovered the first whale fall in 1987 but was not involved in the new research, told AFP it was "extremely exciting".

"The vast number of fossil whale falls documented, including a new species of beaked whale, is truly amazing and is of major importance to understanding whale evolution and whale distributions over geologic time," he said.

Whale fall researcher Amy Baco-Taylor at Florida State University told AFP the "remarkable discovery" would "likely provide many new insights".

This includes for the animals living in these "chemosynthetic" communities, whose numbers had been thought to have been drastically reduced by human whaling, she added.

US paleontologist Stephen Godfrey compared the "truly unique discovery" to past major underwater finds, such as when scientists first identified hydrothermal vents teeming with life on the ocean floor in 1977.

He called for future submersible voyages to find more whale graveyards across the world.

This discovery "reminded me of a trailer for the first in a series of epic movies", Godfrey commented in a linked Nature paper.

"I hope that there will be many more of these blockbusters to come."


UK's Prince William Says AI Can Help to Tackle Homelessness

Prince William, Prince of Wales, attends the launch of the Global Humanitarian Memorial in London, Britain October 01, 2025. Chris Jackson/Pool via REUTERS
Prince William, Prince of Wales, attends the launch of the Global Humanitarian Memorial in London, Britain October 01, 2025. Chris Jackson/Pool via REUTERS
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UK's Prince William Says AI Can Help to Tackle Homelessness

Prince William, Prince of Wales, attends the launch of the Global Humanitarian Memorial in London, Britain October 01, 2025. Chris Jackson/Pool via REUTERS
Prince William, Prince of Wales, attends the launch of the Global Humanitarian Memorial in London, Britain October 01, 2025. Chris Jackson/Pool via REUTERS

Britain's Prince William said artificial intelligence was being harnessed to identify people at risk of homelessness, enabling early intervention to keep them in housing or reduce the time they spend on the streets or in temporary accommodation.

The prince told an audience at London Tech Week that it was an "unusual conversation" for a technology forum, but the types of data companies handled daily could give insights that made a real difference.

"I'm not sure you realise how much that data can be used to predict and see problems with potential homelessness before they arise," he said, Reuters reported.

Homelessness has long been an important cause for the prince, and three years ago he set up the "Homewards" project with the aim of making the problem "rare, brief and unrepeated".

The program launched its Homelessness Data Lab at Tech Week in partnership with LandAid and Salesforce, supported by Bloomberg, VodafoneThree, Accenture, NatWest Group and others.

The lab will analyse data to flag warning signs - such as a missed bill payment, a phone being cut off or a child absent from school - to intervene to reduce homelessness, a problem Homewards said affected more than 430,000 people in Britain.

The prince said the data could help identify much earlier when somebody was getting into difficulties, allowing intervention that could help them stay in their homes, jobs and communities.

"Prevention is better than cure," he said, appealing to other companies and organizations to join the 25 already working with the lab.

William was shown an "Economic Wellbeing Explorer" map that uses anonymized data from NatWest to pinpoint homelessness risks in Lambeth, London, one of the six locations Homewards works in.

"It's game-changing stuff," he told Tim Siret, an analyst at Smart Data Foundry, a subsidiary of the University of Edinburgh, which created the explorer.

 


Japan Lawmakers Back Plan to Ease Imperial Succession Crisis

Japans Emperor Naruhito delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of the World Island Nations Ocean Conference in Tokyo on June 3, 2026. (Photo by Jiji / AFP)
Japans Emperor Naruhito delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of the World Island Nations Ocean Conference in Tokyo on June 3, 2026. (Photo by Jiji / AFP)
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Japan Lawmakers Back Plan to Ease Imperial Succession Crisis

Japans Emperor Naruhito delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of the World Island Nations Ocean Conference in Tokyo on June 3, 2026. (Photo by Jiji / AFP)
Japans Emperor Naruhito delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of the World Island Nations Ocean Conference in Tokyo on June 3, 2026. (Photo by Jiji / AFP)

Japan's legislature endorsed on Wednesday a proposed framework aimed at easing a looming imperial succession crisis, with just one young heir to the throne currently remaining.

The imperial household operates under strict rules that allow only male offsprings from the male side of the family to ascend to the ancient Chrysanthemum Throne.

That means that the household's future currently hinges on 19-year-old Prince Hisahito, Emperor Naruhito's nephew and the only young man in the family.

Other family members are either women -- who are not allowed to inherit the throne -- or older men, the youngest among them 60-year-old Crown Prince Akishino, who is Naruhito's brother and Hisahito's father.

In a bid to expand the thinning line of succession, lawmakers endorsed in principle amending the Imperial Household Law, presenting their initiative to Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

The proposals would allow women keep their royal status even after marrying someone outside the family, and let the imperial family adopt male distant relatives.

"Given all the differing opinions, we believe we've managed to produce the best possible result," lower house speaker Eisuke Mori told a news conference before presenting the legislature's view to Takaichi.

Once her government drafts the amendments, the bill will return to the legislature, with Mori expressing his wish to pass it before the current parliament session ends on July 17, AFP reported.

Under the proposal, adopted men would not be heirs but their sons could be placed in line to succeed the throne, Mori said this week.

The imperial family now has 16 members in total, including five men -- the 66-year-old emperor and his brother, Prince Hisahito, retired emperor Akihito, who is 92, and his 90-year-old brother.

Emperor Naruhito has a daughter, Princess Aiko. The existing male-succession rule means that she would have to leave the family once she marries a commoner.

The lawmakers' proposal did not address the possibility of a woman emperor, an idea that has wide public support.