Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

U.S. health officials on March 30 informed hospitals they must provide patients with more nutritious food.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) stated in a memorandum to hospitals across the country that they must comply with certain conditions to receive federal funding, including making sure that menus and diets meet the nutritional needs of patients.

Officials noted the January release of new dietary guidelines, which emphasize limiting ultra-processed foods, refined carbohydrates, and sugar-laden products in favor of whole foods such as whole milk and meat.

Hospitals “should review and revise food and nutrition service policies, standard menus, therapeutic diet protocols, and food procurement practices to align with the [guidelines], which support contemporary evidence on diet quality and health outcomes,” the letter stated.

A good diet for a patient might feature steel-cut oats with berries and nuts for breakfast, grilled salmon with quinoa and roasted vegetables for lunch, and a lentil-based entree with a side salad later in the day, according to the document.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., at an event in Florida that was held in part to coincide with the memo, said that it was “essentially a federal mandate” that would help incentivize hospitals to serve better food.

“The food at hospitals is so uniformingly, appallingly bad that it is now a pejorative,” he said. “If you tell somebody that this tastes like hospital food, it’s not a compliment.”

CMS is a division of Kennedy’s Department of Health and Human Services.

Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator of CMS, said in a statement that “hospitals are meant to heal—but too often, the food they serve holds patients back.”

“It’s time for hospitals to prioritize real, nutrient-dense food, cut ultra-processed options, and align meals with evidence-based medical needs.”

Oz and Kennedy said that revamping menus would lead to faster recovery and lower readmission rates for patients.

The event also included the announcement that Nicklaus Children’s Hospital had committed to sourcing 5 percent of its food from local farmers in Florida.

The hospital will look to add 1 percent to that percentage each year moving forward.

“This means that kids getting cancer treatment will eat real protein, from the producers here in Florida,” said Hannah Anderson, director of the Healthy America campaign from the America First Policy Institute, which hosted the event.

“This means that kids getting treatment for debilitating diseases will get whole milk. And this means that the kids who are fighting infection are getting the vitamin C and vitamin A from food that’s grown right here in Florida.”

There’s a new wrinkle in the case against Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old charged with assassinating conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Defense attorneys revealed last week that federal ballistic analysis cannot link the bullet that killed Kirk to the rifle prosecutors say Robinson used.

Robinson faces charges of aggravated murder, along with multiple felony counts, for the September 10, 2025, killing of Kirk at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. The case seemed, from the outside, fairly straightforward: Robinson reportedly confessed to his father, who told a youth pastor with ties to the U.S. Marshals Service, and Robinson himself surrendered to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office the following night. 

Prosecutors say DNA consistent with Robinson’s was recovered from the trigger, the fired cartridge casing, and two unfired cartridges on the rifle found near the scene.

However, in a motion filed Friday, Robinson’s attorneys disclosed that they had received an ATF summary report with an unexpected finding. “Regarding the firearm evidence, the defense has been provided with an ATF summary report which indicates that the ATF was unable to identify the bullet recovered at autopsy to the rifle allegedly tied to Mr. Robinson,” the motion reads. The defense added, “Although the State has not indicated an intent to produce this report at the preliminary hearing, the defense may very well decide to offer the testimony of the ATF firearm analyst as exculpatory evidence.”

Authorities recovered an old German bolt-action Mauser Model 98 .30-06 caliber rifle used in both World Wars from a forested area near the shooting site. The FBI is conducting additional ballistic tests, but the results are still pending. Until they arrive, the defense is sitting on an ATF report that they believe actively undermines the state’s physical evidence narrative.

Here’s, by the way, what a .30-06 does:

DNA questions are also piling up alongside the ballistic ones. Defense attorneys point out that forensic reports show multiple people’s DNA on some items, which they argue demands more sophisticated analysis than a standard single-contributor examination. 

“As these cases indicate, determining the number of contributors to a DNA mixture, and determining whether the FBI and the ATF reliably applied validated and correct scientific procedures … is a complicated process which requires the assistance of various types of experts, including forensic biologists, geneticists, system engineers, and statisticians, all of whom must review and evaluate” several categories.

The defense has received roughly 20,000 files – 61,500 pages, 31 hours of audio, and more than 700 hours of video spread across 5,000-plus clips. Defense attorneys say it will take at least 60 days to make a first pass through the material, and are now asking the court to push the May 18 preliminary hearing back by at least six months.

The preliminary hearing itself is not a trial. It’s the moment prosecutors must demonstrate sufficient cause to proceed. That makes the ATF report strategically critical right now. If the defense can successfully use it to cast doubt on the state’s physical evidence package at this early stage, the downstream implications for a capital case are significant.

However, it’s debatable how crucial it really is. Prosecutors still have DNA evidence, an alleged text message in which Robinson reportedly told his romantic partner he targeted Kirk because he “had enough of his hatred,” and witness testimony from Robinson’s parents and roommate. The confession to his father remains a cornerstone of the state’s case.

The defense is also pushing for a televised trial, insisting that having the court proceedings “as public as possible helps to quell and contradict the tide of misinformation,” and will limit conspiracy theories.

Authored by Matt Van Swol via X,

I think I know why everything sucks…

…and it’s because everything is fake

We are getting fake college degrees that cost 4 years and six figures that teach you fake education and get you fake jobs.

We are eating fake food, with fake ingredients, funded by fake research.

We are scrolling through fake lives, with fake relationships, who take fake, curated vacations to promote brands that make fake products.

We are voting for fake candidates, who run on fake promises, inside a fake system that was never designed to fix anything.

We are raising kids in fake schools that teach fake history, fake science, which quietly produce fake adults who can’t think for themselves.

We are watching fake news, about fake crises, produced by fake journalists, for fake outrage.

We are borrowing fake money that was printed from nothing, to fund a fake economy that would collapse in an afternoon if people stopped pretending it was real.

We are buying fake organic food that’s just a paid label, and drinking fake juice with two percent juice in it, and putting fake cheese on cheeseburgers that’s just “cheese product” on fake burger meat.

We are donating to fake nonprofits where the money never makes it to the people and then funding fake foreign aid that buys real weapons to prop up fake governments.

We are going to fake therapy that teaches fake coping skills instead of telling you hard truths.

We are buying fake furniture made of fake wood that’s actually compressed sawdust and glue that looks like wood, ships in fourteen boxes with instructions written in a fake language that isn’t quite any language, requires tools it doesn’t include, takes 4 hours to build, wobbles on day 1, and is totally destroyed in 6 months.

We are downloading fake “free” apps that charge a subscription after three days for AI features that don’t work, hidden behind a paywall we didn’t see, protected by a privacy policy we didn’t read, buried inside Terms of Service written by lawyers specifically so we wouldn’t read them, that we agreed to by tapping a button the size of a thumbnail, that gave a company we’ve never heard of the right to sell our data to companies we’ll never hear of, to build a profile on us we’ll never see, to influence decisions we’ll never know were made.

IT. IS. ALL. FAKE.

And we all yearn for what was once real.

Don’t you remember? Did you forget?

There was a time with a simple handshake between men was a contract.

When bread went stale because… well, that’s what real bread does!

When kids played outside all day until it was dark, and nobody tracked them.

When a family could live off a single income.

When music was made by people who LIVED something real and you could feel it.

When schools was HARD… and that was the point!

When doctors knew your name and your family, they even came to your house.

When you bought something once… and it was yours forever.

When the chair your grandmother bought once lasted 70 years and she passed it onto your dad.

And now nothing is real, and that’s why everything sucks.

I think I know why everything sucks…

…and it’s because everything is fake

We are getting fake college degrees that cost 4 years and six figures that teach you fake education and get you fake jobs.

We are eating fake food, with fake ingredients, funded by fake research.… pic.twitter.com/lmhoUGVi23

— Matt Van Swol (@mattvanswol) March 30, 2026

Summary

• President Pezeshkian: prepared to end war with guarantees against further attacks.

• IRGC warns it will hit 18 US tech companies in region, says Siemens in Israel already attack

• China, Pakistan issue broad five-point framework for peace (document below); France, Italy begin to block airspace for Iran-related US ops

• WarSec Hegseth saw “upcoming days will be decisive”, strikes will continues without any deal – says “regime fragmenting”

• President Trump signals off-ramp, tells world “go get your own oil”, says Iran ‘decimated’. Tells NYP the strait could ‘automatically open’

• Isfahan, home to much of Iran’s enriched uranium and a sprawling ‘missile city’ – was pounded hard overnight by US 2,000-pound bunker buster bombs.

*  *  *

Iran FM Clarifies Not Negotiating with US, But Messages Sent

Iran’s Foreign Minister Aragchi has clarified some things to AI Jazeera regarding diplomatic engagement with the US on potentially ending the war. The main takeaway is his explanation that what is happening now does not constitute negotiations in Tehran’s view, but an exchange of messages directly or through our friends in the region (namely Pakistan).

He said that all communication concerning diplomacy and the war is routed through the Foreign Ministry and overseen by the National Security Council. They have neither responded to reported US proposals nor submitted their own, stressing that no decision on talks has been made. Instead of a ceasefire, Iran is calling for a full regional end to the war, along with guarantees against future attacks and compensation for damages.

Aragchi emphasize that Iran is acting defensively, not initiating conflict, and is targeting only US assets – not regional allies per se. The Strait of Hormuz remains open to friendly shipping but could be restricted for adversaries, he continued. While warning they are prepared for escalation, Iran also acknowledges tensions with neighboring countries may rise, though they believe trust can eventually be restored.

Oil Plunges on Iran Overture

A big developing headline has sent oil plunging…

IRAN’S PRESIDENT PEZESHKIAN STATES THEY ARE PREPARED TO END THE WAR IF THEY RECEIVE GUARANTEES

Iranian President Pezeshkian says Iran seeks no war but is prepared to end it with guarantees against further attacks, per state PressTV:

• The US-Israeli military aggression against Iran is an unprecedented crime and a flagrant violation of international law.
• Iran engaged in good-faith talks with the US, only to be illegally attacked mid-negotiation—proving the US rejects diplomacy.
• Neighboring countries hosting US bases failed to prevent their territories from being used to attack Iran.
• The solution is an end to aggression; Iran seeks no war but is prepared to end it with guarantees against further attacks.
• Europe should drop its destructive approach and engage with Iran professionally and in line with international law.

A big question will be whether this could represent an IRGC vs. civilian government divide, as far as whether this peace overture sticks. Also, the US and Israel would have to both agree to halt the ongoing aerial strikes, but it’s not at all clear whether the Netanyahu government would be on board with ceasefire, given many believe Israel’s objectives are much more expansive, oriented toward total regime collapse.

Trump: Hormuz Strait to ‘Automatically Open'(?)

“When we leave the strait will automatically open,” President Trump has told the New York Post Tuesday, when asked whether he’s considering ending action in Iran without reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

“Well, I think it’ll automatically open, but my attitude is, I’ve obliterated the country. They have no strength left, and let the countries that are using the strait, let them go and open it… because I would imagine whoever’s controlling the oil will be very happy to open the strait,” Trump continued. “But we won’t have to be there much longer – but we have more work to do in terms of killing their offensive, whatever offensive capability they have left.”

AntiWar.com’s Dave DeCamp points out a certain circular reasoning and sad reality of where the situation stands: “The goal of the war has become fixing a problem that didn’t exist before the war.“

IRGC Threatens US Tech Companies in Region

The IRGC has reportedly threatened to target the Middle East operations of 18 US technology companies starting Wednesday night. It warned of this escalation should any more senior military commanders or government leaders be assassinated. Among companies named in a statement include Apple, Google, Tesla, Microsoft, Intel, Oracle, IBM, Meta, Nvidia, Boeing, and others.

This may have already started happening in terms of the ongoing Iranian bombardment of Israel – though the ballistic missiles are said to be less frequent compared to opening weeks of the war. Newsquawk: “Iran’s Army says they have targeted industries belonging to Siemens and AT&T in Ben Gurion and Haifa.” Confirmed in state media (based on emerging reports, they are Cisco, HP, Intel, Oracle, Microsoft, Apple, Google, Meta, IBM, Dell, Palantir, NVIDIA, JPMorgan, Tesla, General Electric, Spire Solutions, G42, Boeing)

Iran’s IRGC issued a warning against 18 American technology companies, among them Microsoft, Apple, Google, Intel, and Boeing, stating that they will be considered legitimate targets in response to terrorist operations carried out by the US and Israel. pic.twitter.com/NcHJZRz4rE

— Press TV 🔻 (@PressTV) March 31, 2026

US Claims Iran Fragmenting, High Level Desertions

Among Hegseth’s earlier themes which we said signaled preparation for an ‘offramp’ is that he asserted that heavy US strikes on Iran are fragmenting the regime, and greatly dampening morale among Tehran authorities.

“Our strikes are damaging the morale of the Iranian military, leading to widespread desertions, key personnel shortages and causing frustrations amongst senior leaders,” Hegseth said at the morning Pentagon briefing on Tuesday. Also, Gen. Caine added that “The joint force continues to degrade and destroy Iran’s ability to project power and threaten stability beyond its borders.” President Trump has followed in words given to NYP that he doesn’t expect the war to continue for much longer, telling Americans they can ‘soon’ expect an end – in a repeat of similar remarks from last week.

France, Italy Block Airspace for Some US Planes Operating In Iran

France has reportedly refused to allow the United States to use its airspace to transport weapons for the Iran conflict -marking the first such denial since the war began, according to Reuters. This follows a similar move by Spain, signaling growing reluctance and angst among key European allies to facilitate US military logistics. At the same time, Italy has denied certain US aircraft access to an airbase in Sicily, though officials there insist the issue stems from procedural violations, specifically that the Pentagon failed to obtain proper authorization before requesting landing clearance.

Italian officials emphasize that all requests must comply with established agreements and legal frameworks, which require case-by-case approval and, in some cases, parliamentary oversight. This legal positioning provides the Meloni government with a way to limit involvement (and so domestic fall-out among largely anti-war youth) while maintaining formal cooperation, even as domestic opposition to the conflict and unease over US interventionism continue to grow.

China-Pakistan Issue 5-Point Peace Framework

China and Pakistan on Tuesday issued a five-point initiative for restoring peace in the Gulf and Middle East, after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar in Beijing. These countries have taken the lead, with Islamabad playing host to shuttle diplomacy – after earlier Egypt and Turkey also sent their top diplomats for a Sunday summit. In short, it is broken down according these five points and headings, laying out a broad path for Iran war ceasefire and permanent truce:

I. Immediate Cessation of Hostilities: China and Pakistan call for immediate cessation of hostilities and utmost efforts to prevent the conflict from spreading.

II. Start of peace talks as soon as possible.

III. Security of nonmilitary targets.

IV. Security of shipping lanes.

V. Primacy of the United Nations Charter.

Notably, there’s nothing in here about ‘denuclearization’ of Iran or anything touching on what might be US-Israeli strategic aims, but instead it is quite ambiguous and broad as a proposed starting point. This comes as the US has signaled it could be open to an offramp or peace deal even if the Hormuz Strait remains under Iran’s de facto control. Here is the document issued by Pakistan’s official Ministry of Foreign Affairs accounts on social media:

Secretary of War Hegseth Says ‘Upcoming Days Will Be Decisive’, ‘Damaging Iran Military Morale’

WarSec Hegseth’s comments were not quite a “Mission Accomplished” but definitely a reflection on the courage and completion of “systematically destroy” Iran’s military capabilities. Hegseth said he visited US troops involved in operations against Iran over the weekend, describing a campaign that is intensifying as American firepower ramps up while Iran’s capabilities decline.

He stressed that “upcoming days will be decisive,” acknowledging Iran is still expected to launch missiles but adding, “we will shoot down” incoming threats. According to Hegseth, sustained US strikes are not only degrading military assets but also “damaging Iran military morale” and triggering “widespread Iran military desertions.” And another key line:

“We would much prefer to get a deal. If Iran was willing to relinquish material they have and ambitions they have, open the strait, great. That’s the goal. We don’t want to have to do more militarily than we have to.”

He went further, claiming “regime change has occurred in Iran,” while warning that if Tehran refuses to make a deal, Washington will press ahead. “If Iran isn’t willing to make deal, US will continue,” he said, adding that strikes will persist “with more intensity” in the absence of an agreement.

Hegseth on Iran:

If Iran is wise, it will cut a deal. Trump doesn’t bluff, and he does not back down.

The new Iranian regime should understand that by now. Regime change has occurred. This new regime should be wiser than the last.

Trump is willing to make a deal, and the terms… pic.twitter.com/FPqJluewKW

— Clash Report (@clashreport) March 31, 2026

*  *  *

Off-Ramp Imminent? Trump Tells World “Go Get Your Own Oil” Via Strait After ‘Decimating’ Iran

There’s been a lot of speculation that the White House is preparing to find a ‘mission accomplished’ declaration moment, as ‘any offramp will do’ as a way to avoid a costly potential quagmire of introducing ground troops, and we may be seeing the start of one.

After comments apparently leaked to The Wall Street Journal overnight that Trump is willing to leave Iran with the Strait unopened, the President has clarified his thinking in his out loud voice this morning.

President Trump has posted on social media this morning, clearly signaling he is further down the road towards an off-ramp:

All of those countries that can’t get jet fuel because of the Strait of Hormuz, like the United Kingdom, which refused to get involved in the decapitation of Iran, I have a suggestion for you:

Number 1, buy from the U.S., we have plenty, and

Number 2, build up some delayed courage, go to the Strait, and just TAKE IT.

You’ll have to start learning how to fight for yourself, the U.S.A. won’t be there to help you anymore, just like you weren’t there for us.

Iran has been, essentially, decimated.

The hard part is done. Go get your own oil!

President DJT

The reaction was a drop in the price of oil…

…and stocks rising…

Nothing dramatic in either – as traders remain nervous of Trump-Talk still – but nevertheless, as Goldman’s Rich Privorotsky noted overnight (in a seemingly precognitive comment before Trump’s tweet), this is shaping up like an off-ramp:

After ~5 weeks of conflict “President Trump told aides he’s willing to end the U.S. military campaign against Iran even if the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed” (WSJ).

Politically messy (especially in GCC…less so domestically), but probably the least bad short-term pathway (can argue LT worse).

There’s a press conference at 8am EST from the Defense Department.

Overnight saw meaningful escalation… Iran struck a heavily laden oil tanker in Dubai port… a very explicit signal around control of shipping.

Likely in response to US actions around nuclear facilities in Isfahan

(Trump on his Truth Social posted uncaptioned video of large explosion 5 hours ago).

BREAKING 🚨: US dropped 2000 lb bomb over #Tehran#Trump and #netanyahu destroying #Iran#IranWar‌ #ısrael pic.twitter.com/7CbrsHtqGu

— Pak-China Today (@PakChinaToday) March 31, 2026

The most bullish near term outcome would be a “mission accomplished” style announcement…

i.e. nuclear capabilities set back materially (say 10–20 years), allowing the US to step away.

No edge here, frankly could be anything but will be watching.  

…

The key shift then remains the Strait.

If the US pauses while Iran maintains some level of disruption, the pressure flips… China, Korea, Japan, India, Europe and the GCC all become directly incentivized to force flows back online.

Even partial restrictions (e.g. US/Israeli vessels) are manageable…so a unilateral victory could actually restart flows and shift pressure to ROW to get strait moving. 

2,000-pound Bunker Buster Bombs Hit Isfahan Hard Overnight

Videos and reporting from the region has made clear that the central Iranian city of Isfahan has been hit very hard in the latest US-Israeli strikes. A major ammunition depot and other “military-linked” sites were attacked using 2,000-lb bunker busters. Isfahan is the Islamic Republic’s third-most populous city and is believe to host majority of the nation’s highly enriched uranium as well as a sprawling “missile city”.

The Wall Street Journal reported that a “high volume of bunker busters, or penetrator munitions, was used for the strike” at a large ammunition depot, creating immense fireballs.

US forces have now hit more than 11,000 targets over the monthlong war, focusing heavily on degrading Iran’s missile, drone, as well as nuclear power and development sites.

CBC has written, “The attacks were testament to the intensity of the month-long war the U.S. and Israel launched against Iran, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested in an interview that Israel has achieved more than half of its war aims.”

The heavy overnight explosions were widely recorded, being viewed for miles around:

🚨🇮🇷BREAKING: Citizens from Isfahan are reporting HEAVY EXPLOSIONS a short time ago.

What’s going on there?! pic.twitter.com/h7dPxdLQet

— Eli Afriat 🇮🇱 (@EliAfriatISR) March 30, 2026

“Isfahan is home to one of three sites earlier attacked by the U.S. military last year. NASA fire-tracking satellites suggest explosions happened in a mountainous region on the city’s southern edge,” the report described further, noting that Iran has yet to confirm the attack. President Trump previously warned on Truth Social, “Great progress has been made but, if for any reason a deal is not shortly reached, which it probably will be, and if the Hormuz Strait is not immediately ‘Open for Business’. He continued: “we will conclude our lovely ‘stay’ in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!), which we have purposefully not yet ‘touched’.”

As for the ordinance used, “bunker buster” refers to a class of bombs engineered to drive deep beneath the surface – particularly through rock, soil, or reinforced concrete – before detonating. The technology was honed and widely used by the US during the Persian Gulf War of 1991.

*  *  *

American freelance journalist Shelly Kittleson, who reports primarily on Middle Eastern and Afghan affairs, was kidnapped in Baghdad earlier today. She has written for outlets including Al-Monitor, Foreign Policy, BBC News, Politico, and others.

Alex Plitsas, a CNN national security analyst and former senior Pentagon official under former President Barack Obama, confirmed on X that Kittleson was “abducted and may have been taken hostage in Baghdad by Kataib Hezbollah.”

🚨🚨🚨 I can confirm that my friend Shelly Kittleson was abducted and may have taken hostage in Baghdad by Khatib Hezbollah. Whereabouts and condition unknown. I am her designated U.S. point of contact. If you have information please provide to law enforcement and send me a DM.

— Alex Plitsas 🇺🇸 (@alexplitsas) March 31, 2026

Middle East-based Al Sharqiya TV cited the Iraqi Interior Ministry, stating: “A vehicle belonging to the kidnappers of the American journalist overturned during a security pursuit, and one of them was apprehended.”

الداخلية العراقية: انقلاب عجلة تابعة لخاطفي الصحفية الأميركية أثناء مطاردة أمنية والقبض على أحدهم#الشرقية_نيوز pic.twitter.com/vlwl6Bask1

— AlSharqiya TV – قناة الشرقية (@alsharqiyatv) March 31, 2026

Footage of the kidnapping has circulated on X.

American 🇺🇸 journalist Shelly Kittleson has been kidnapped in central Baghdad, Iraq 🇮🇶 by unidentified perpetrators affiliated with Iranian 🇮🇷 backed Iraqi Shiite militias

There is no official confirmation yet, but @shellykittleson‘s colleagues whom I spoke to say her… https://t.co/Zn6tjbp83h pic.twitter.com/yTPlDMGer8

— Saad Abedine (@SaadAbedine) March 31, 2026

Iraqi 🇮🇶 Interior Ministry said American 🇺🇸 freelance journalist Shelly Kittleson was kidnapped by unidentified armed men (Iranian 🇮🇷 backed militias) in central Baghdad & that during a pursuit the vehicle belonging to the kidnappers was intercepted which overturned as they… https://t.co/cOAwUZn6hq pic.twitter.com/ciUo05iUbF

— Saad Abedine (@SaadAbedine) March 31, 2026

*Developing…

NASA is gearing up for Artemis II, its first crewed mission to the moon since the Apollo era—but this one is more of a high-speed dress rehearsal than a landing, according to KSL.com. Four astronauts will take a roughly 10-day trip that loops around the moon and comes straight back, with no orbiting or moonwalks.

The crew—Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen—marks a few firsts: the first woman, first person of color, and first non-American assigned to a lunar mission. Koch already holds the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman, while Glover previously made history aboard the International Space Station. Hansen, representing Canada, is the only rookie in the group.

They’ll launch aboard NASA’s massive Space Launch System rocket, with the Orion capsule on top. After liftoff, the plan is to spend about a day in an elongated orbit around Earth, practicing navigation by flying close to a spent rocket stage—without docking, just eyeballing the distance. As commander Wiseman put it, “Sometimes simple stuff is the best.”

KSL writes that from there, Orion will fire its engine and send the crew on a long arc toward the moon, roughly 244,000 miles away. Using a “free-return” trajectory—basically letting gravity do most of the work—they’ll swing around the far side and travel about 5,000 miles beyond it, farther than any humans have gone before. The moon will loom large during the flyby, and the crew is expected to document rarely seen regions of its far side.

After about six days, they’ll slingshot back toward Earth, wrapping up the mission with a Pacific Ocean splashdown just under 10 days after launch. Engineers will be paying close attention to Orion’s heat shield during reentry, since it took heavy damage during an earlier uncrewed test.

The mission hasn’t been perfectly smooth so far—fueling issues like hydrogen leaks have already caused delays—but Artemis II is still a crucial step. NASA ultimately wants to return astronauts to the lunar surface, and this flight is meant to prove they can get there—and back—safely.

Authored by Kimberly Hayek via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Whistleblowers are encouraged to report abuse of Medicare, Medicaid, and other government health benefit programs, the Department of the Treasury announced on March 30, while warning that sophisticated fraud schemes are siphoning billions from them.

In an advisory, the Treasury detailed the way in which transnational criminal organizations—working with domestic fraudsters and organized crime groups—create fake health care providers, employ cover people to pose as owners who are not U.S. residents, and steal the personal data of actual beneficiaries to submit false claims for care that was never provided or was not needed. Proceeds are then laundered through wire transfers, digital assets, and culpable bank co-conspirators before being transferred overseas.

The department said its Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has published a proposed rule to fully implement a whistleblower program that would reward 10–30 percent of penalties collected in successful enforcement in fraud and money laundering cases, as well as sanctions violations. Payments would be taken from penalties obtained under the Bank Secrecy Act and other laws already in place.

“The regulation proposed today, when finalized, will fully implement these statutes,” FinCEN said. “Whistleblowers are encouraged to submit information as soon as possible and to provide detailed, specific documentation to support their claims.”

In the meantime, FinCEN said it “recently launched a portal” for whistleblowers to begin making reports.

Financial institutions reported a 20 percent increase in suspicious activity linked to health care fraud in 2025 over the previous year, according to the advisory. Officials, however, suspect the filings reveal only a small part of the fraud.

“President Trump has been clear that Americans have a right to know that their tax dollars are not being used to commit fraud,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement. “Under President Trump’s leadership, Treasury will continue to find and disrupt fraud schemes wherever they exist, and we will work with our law enforcement partners to hold perpetrators to account.”

The department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network advisory comes as the Trump administration works to undermine waste and abuse in federal spending.

The advisory was released in collaboration with the FBI and the Health and Human Services Department’s Office of Inspector General. It aligns with an executive order targeting fraud across federal payments.

Treasury officials said the advisory and proposed regulation are in line with administration actions to protect taxpayer dollars and protect the financial system against illicit activity, and that financial institutions are requested to file suspicious activity reports and to inform law enforcement immediately upon encountering suspicious transactions.

In February, Bessent described efforts to combat fraud in federal spending.

“We are encouraging whistleblowers who know about fraud, people who are stealing from the American taxpayer, to come forward at Treasury,” he said. “We will be giving rewards up to 10 percent to 30 percent of the fines that we levy.”

Bessent added that these efforts represent a great way to ferret out waste, fraud, and abuse.

The Trump administration has also flagged fraud concerns in New York.

Federal investigators there have homed in on the state’s Medicaid program. In March, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz, tasked with spearheading a federal review of Medicaid spending, cited abnormal job growth in home health and personal care aides as showing signs of possible abuse.

“Heart surgeons are trained to look at the numbers,” the cardiothoracic surgeon said. “When something doesn’t add up, you don’t ignore it; you investigate.”

In a specific New York case, eight people were indicted in a $68 million Medicaid fraud scheme revolving around Brooklyn adult day care centers that allegedly entailed bribes and inflated claims.

We’ve been highlighting the significant impact of the Iran war on developments in Ukraine, where the over four-year long war is showing no end in sight. Ukraine’s President Zelensky has made clear his view that the current global focus on the Iran conflict has put Kiev in a weakened position.

Already, Ukraine’s international partners are ‘primarily’ sending their anti-ballistic missile systems to the Middle East – with Ukraine ‘forgotten’ – Zelensky has recently said. But there’s more, as the hits keep coming: Zelensky revealed Monday that some of Ukraine’s backers have sent “signals” to scale back long-range strikes on Russia’s oil sector as global energy prices have soared.

“Recently, following such a severe global energy crisis, we have indeed ⁠received signals from some of our partners about how to reduce our responses in the ​oil sector and the energy sector of the Russian Federation,” Zelensky told journalists in a WhatsApp briefing, reported by Reuters.

This is perhaps what’s behind his calling for an Easter holiday truce with Russia. He had on the same day that he told journalists about a potential pause on long-range attacks on Russian energy stated: “If Russia is ready to stop hitting Ukrainian energy facilities, we will not respond against their energy sector.”

Zelensky just came off a tour of Middle East Gulf states, even amid Iran’s ongoing retaliation in the region, while seeking Ukrainian security assistance. In recent days he met with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and Jordan.

Reuters notes of this, “Fresh from a four-day visit to the Middle East, Zelenskiy said that he had reached agreement with some countries in the region to provide energy support to Ukraine.”

“Zelenskiy said at the weekend during his Middle ​East tour that he ​had reached a deal ⁠on diesel deliveries for a year to Ukraine, without providing further details,” the report continues. “Diesel is vital for the functioning of the Ukrainian armed forces and ​the country’s agricultural sector, the bedrock of the economy.”

So indeed any new pause in tit-for-tat assaults on energy infrastructure would be a welcome reprieve for Ukraine as well.

One interesting aspect to the Reuters report is that while the US side hasn’t commented, one unnamed source tries to inject that the ‘signaling’ on reducing or halting long-range strikes on energy is actually coming from Moscow:

A source familiar with the situation said U.S. officials had conveyed this message to their Ukrainian counterparts as part of their regular conversations, adding that the initial “signals” appeared to have come from Moscow.

And yet, even as Zelensky himself admits, Trump’s easing of Russian oil sanctions has put the Kremlin in the driver’s seat, in terms of energy leverage, at this crucial moment – also as the peace process and talks between Moscow and Keiv are non-existent.

In the meantime, amid waning support from the Trump administration, Zelensky has set his sights on greatly improving ties with the wealthy oil and gas monarchies in the Gulf.

Authored by Micah Zimmerman via BitcoinMagazine.com,

A new research paper from Google has intensified debate over whether Bitcoin can adapt in time to withstand advances in quantum computing, pushing developers and investors to confront a risk long treated as theoretical.

Google’s quantum division said this week in a new whitepaper that future machines could break widely used encryption far more efficiently than previously estimated, including the elliptic curve cryptography that underpins Bitcoin wallets. 

The research suggests attacks that once appeared decades away may arrive sooner, with some scenarios modeling the ability to crack encryption in minutes under advanced conditions.

The findings do not imply an immediate threat.

Today’s quantum computers remain far below the scale required to break modern cryptographic systems.

But the paper reduces the estimated resources needed, narrowing the gap between theory and practice and shifting attention toward preparation rather than dismissal.

Google has already set a 2029 target to transition its own systems to post-quantum cryptography, reflecting a broader shift among large technology firms and governments toward defensive planning.

Is Bitcoin under threat? 

For Bitcoin, the implications are specific and structural. The network relies on digital signatures that could, in principle, be reversed by a sufficiently powerful quantum computer. Roughly one-third of the total Bitcoin supply sits in addresses where public keys have been exposed, creating a defined set of targets under certain attack models.

Separate analyses cited in the research estimate that about 6.7 million Bitcoin may be exposed to varying degrees under quantum attack scenarios, including coins held in older address formats where public keys remain permanently visible on-chain.

More immediate concerns focus on transaction windows. When a Bitcoin transaction is broadcast, its public key becomes visible before confirmation. Google’s research suggests a theoretical attacker could exploit that gap, solving for the private key within the same time frame it takes for a block to be mined.

That has shifted the conversation among developers from abstract risk to engineering timelines.

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao pushed back on what he described as exaggerated concerns, arguing that most cryptographic systems, including Bitcoin, can migrate to quantum-resistant algorithms without destabilizing the network.

He noted, however, that execution remains a constraint. Coordinating upgrades across a decentralized ecosystem could lead to competing proposals, software fragmentation and potential forks, while users holding assets in self-custody would need to actively migrate funds to new wallet structures.

The Bitcoin ecosystem has begun early-stage work on quantum resistance. A recent proposal, known as BIP 360, introduces new transaction formats designed to remove or reduce exposure to vulnerable cryptographic assumptions. The proposal remains in draft form, but test implementations are already running in experimental environments, allowing developers to evaluate quantum-safe signatures in practice.

Even proponents describe the effort as a starting point rather than a solution. Any upgrade would require broad coordination across a decentralized network, a process that can take years to reach consensus and deploy.

That timeline is central to the emerging debate. Estimates suggest a full migration to quantum-resistant cryptography in Bitcoin could take the better part of a decade, depending on adoption and coordination across wallets, exchanges and infrastructure providers.

The risk, developers say, is not only technological but organizational. Bitcoin has no central authority to mandate upgrades, and changes to its core protocol require agreement among a global set of participants with differing incentives.

Developers are currently working on a Bitcoin Improvement Proposal to strengthen Bitcoin against quantum, with a test net already deployed 👀 👏 pic.twitter.com/bFVgkCDvuS

— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) March 31, 2026

Banking, traditional finance at risk as well

The issue also extends beyond cryptocurrency. The same class of cryptography secures banking systems, government communications and large parts of the internet. 

In theory, the same cryptographic systems that secure Bitcoin also underpin global banking infrastructure, payment networks and government communications. 

Google and cybersecurity agencies warned that attackers may already be collecting encrypted data today in anticipation of future quantum capabilities, a strategy known as “store now, decrypt later.”

Any viable quantum attack would not be isolated to crypto markets, but would extend across financial institutions and critical systems that rely on public-key encryption. Bitcoin is not uniquely vulnerable, but it is uniquely transparent. Its ledger makes exposure visible, and its open-source development model makes its response observable in real time.

Market reaction has remained muted so far, with prices largely unaffected by the latest research. 

In a landmark 8-1 decision issued today, the Supreme Court sided with a Christian mental health counselor – ruling that Colorado’s law banning “conversion therapy” violates the First Amendment. 

The majority held that Colorado’s 2019 law unconstitutionally discriminates on the basis of viewpoint by allowing counselors to affirm and support clients exploring gender transition or identity while prohibiting any talk-therapy efforts to help clients reduce unwanted same-sex attractions, change sexual behaviors, or align their gender identity with their biological sex.

The solo dissent being (drumroll…) Ketanji Brown Jackson.  

BREAKING: In an 8-1 ruling, the Supreme Court announced this morning that Colorado’s ban on so-called conversion therapy violates First Amendment free speech rights. Gorsuch wrote the majority opinion. Jackson was the lone dissent.

“The First Amendment stands as a bulwark… pic.twitter.com/roTX2k7NkB

— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) March 31, 2026

Writing for the majority, Justice Neil Gorsuch declared that Colorado’s statute “regulates speech based on viewpoint” by permitting counselors to affirm clients’ gender transitions or identity exploration while prohibiting any efforts to help clients reduce same-sex attractions, change sexual behaviors, or align their gender identity with their biological sex. The decision reverses the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit and remands the case for further proceedings consistent with rigorous First Amendment scrutiny.

“Colorado’s law permits her to express acceptance and support for clients exploring their identity or undergoing gender transition,” Gorsuch wrote. “but forbids her from saying anything that attempts to change a client’s ‘sexual orientation or gender identity,’ including efforts to change ‘behaviors,’ ‘gender expressions,’ or ‘romantic attraction[s].’”

He emphasized that speech does not lose constitutional protection merely because the government labels it “treatment” or “therapeutic modality.” “The First Amendment is no word game,” the opinion states, citing NAACP v. Button (1963).

Jackson, meanwhile, wrote that the decision “opens a dangerous can of worms” that “threatens to impair states’ ability to regulate the provision of medical care in any respect.”

“In the worst-case scenario, our medical system unravels as various licensed healthcare professionals — talk therapists, psychiatrists, and presumably anyone else who claims to utilize speech when administering treatments to patients — start broadly wielding their new-found constitutional right to provide substandard medical care.” 

Unsurprisingly, Axios agrees with Jackson – writing that the decision “has implications beyond the Colorado therapy sessions by setting precedent that therapists’ conversations with patients are regarded as a form of constitutionally protected speech and rolling back protections for LGBTQ+ youth.”

Background

Chiles is a licensed professional counselor in Colorado Springs and a practicing Christian. She holds a master’s degree in clinical mental health and provides exclusively talk therapy—no medications, physical interventions, or coercive techniques. As described in the case, she does not approach sessions with predetermined outcomes. Instead, she listens to clients, including minors, as they articulate their own goals and works with them to pursue those objectives while respecting their autonomy.

Many clients seek her out specifically for her faith-integrated approach. Chiles has said she believes people flourish when they live in alignment with God’s design, including their biological sex. Some clients want support affirming their current identity, while others seek help reducing unwanted same-sex attractions, changing behaviors, or finding greater alignment with their bodies.

In 2019, Colorado enacted a law prohibiting licensed counselors from engaging in “conversion therapy” with minors. The statute broadly bans practices aimed at changing a minor’s sexual orientation or gender identity, including efforts to alter behaviors, gender expression, or reduce same-sex attractions. At the same time, it expressly allows counselors to provide “acceptance, support, and understanding” for identity exploration and to assist individuals undergoing gender transition.

Chiles filed suit in federal court in 2022, seeking a preliminary injunction limited to her talk-therapy practice. Both the district court and the Tenth Circuit found she had Article III standing but denied relief, ruling that the law regulated professional conduct and only incidentally burdened speech, so it needed only rational-basis review. Judge Harris Hartz dissented in the Tenth Circuit. The Supreme Court granted certiorari to resolve the circuit split, heard argument on October 7, 2025, and issued its 8-1 decision today