“US President Donald Trump is seeking $152m (£115m) to reopen the infamous Alcatraz prison as part of his proposed budget for the 2027 fiscal year. Located near San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, the site, also known as The Rock, was once regarded as one of America’s most notorious prisons, but has served as a tourist attraction in recent years. The budget request is seeking money ‘to rebuild Alcatraz as a state-of-the-art secure prison facility’, with funds covering the first year of costs. The plan has been met with scepticism by a number of politicians in California, with questions raised about the final cost of the project and the challenges of running Alcatraz as an active prison. The maximum security facility was closed in 1963. As a tourist site, it is currently run by the National Park Service.'” (04/04/26)
“There is an old joke that scientists switched from lab rats to lawyers because you do not get as attached to lawyers. President Donald Trump has shown the same tendency to avoid becoming attached to either private or government counsel. Attorney General Pam Bondi is only the latest in a long line of lawyers let go by a president who was made famous with the tagline ‘You’re fired.’ There is no evidence of bad blood between President Trump and Bondi. The attorney general has been attacked over her loyalty to the president and has been by his side in some of the most precarious moments, from impeachment to criminal defense. As his ‘apprentices’ learned, this is not personal; it’s business.” (04/03/26)
“Now more than halfway to the moon, the Artemis II astronauts prepared for their historic lunar fly-around to push deeper into space than even the Apollo astronauts. On the downside, their toilet is on the blink again. The three Americans and one Canadian are set to reach their destination Monday, photographing the mysterious lunar far side as they zoom around. It is the first moon-bound crew in more than 53 years, picking up where NASA’s Apollo program left off. ‘The Earth is quite small, and the moon is definitely getting bigger,’ pilot Victor Glover reported. Until the Orion capsule’s bathroom is fixed, Mission Control has instructed the astronauts to break out more of the backup urine collection bags. The so-called lunar loo malfunctioned following Wednesday’s liftoff and has been hit-and-miss ever since. A version of the Artemis II toilet was tested on the International Space Station several years ago.” (04/04/26)
“German males aged between 17 and 45 may need to seek approval for lengthy stays abroad, under changes introduced as part of a new law which introduced voluntary military service. The Military Service Modernisation Act, which came into force on 1 January, aims to boost defences following threats from Russia in the aftermath of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In a statement sent to the BBC, a defence ministry spokesman confirmed that males aged 17 and older were required to obtain prior approval for stays abroad lasting longer than three months. Under the current law, travel approvals must generally be granted and it remains unclear how the rule would be enforced if breached.” (04/04/26)
Source: The American Prospect
by Matthew Cunningham-Cook & Don Wiener
“After President Trump went all in on crypto when he returned to office, Vivek Ramaswamy, the front-runner in the GOP primary for governor of Ohio, began betting big on Bitcoin through his asset management startup Strive, with limited success. Now, crypto industry players are pouring millions into funding his campaign. Why? If he becomes governor, the billionaire has pledged to expand state investments in a crypto reserve (starting with state revolving funds) that could result in hundreds of millions of dollars in state assets ending up in Bitcoin. The largest donor to Ramaswamy’s gubernatorial super PAC in 2025 was Ross Stevens, who donated $14 million and is actively involved with Bitcoin and crypto. The second-largest donor was Jeff Yass, who donated $10 million to the PAC.” (04/04/26)
“A smoky wildfire in southern California that broke out a day earlier and prompted evacuation orders was mostly under control Saturday afternoon, fire officials said. Encompassing roughly 6.3 square miles (about 16 square kilometers) in Riverside County, about 64 miles (103 kilometers) east of Los Angeles, the Springs Fire was no longer growing and at least 75% percent contained Saturday, said Terra Fernandez, public safety information specialist for the Riverside County Fire Department. It was 25% contained on Friday. Fire officials also lifted evacuation orders for a large swath of neighborhoods Saturday morning. Fernandez said she expected the rest will be lifted by the end of the day. ‘It’s pretty much under control,’ Fernandez said. The fire was fueled by strong Santa Ana winds with gusts predicted to get up to 45 mph (72 kph) on Saturday. But winds had ‘dissipated a bit’ since Friday, helping the efforts of fire crews, Fernandez said.” (04/04/26)
“I think Elon Musk is a good man, not perfect, but then, the guy I look at in the mirror every morning isn’t perfect, either, so I’m not going to knock Elon about that. I don’t know any perfect people. Well, that’s not true. Leftists are perfect, of course. If you don’t think they are perfect, just ask them. There are reasons leftists consider themselves perfect. When you are allowed to set up your own standard of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ (which leftists do), and you judge yourself by your own standard of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’, then how can you do anything wrong? If you violate your own standard, you just change the standard and add the ‘wrong’ thing you did to the ‘right’ side of the column. Voila! Perfection! They do it all the time, individually and collectively. But Elon Musk doesn’t do that (I don’t think), and I certainly don’t.” (04/04/26)
“Five Metropolitan Police officers have been removed from front-line duties after a bag containing firearms and a Taser was left on a London street, the force has said. The bag, which was discovered by a member of the public on Tuesday evening, was found outside London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan’s home, The Sun reports. ‘At this stage it is believed the bag was misplaced by on-duty officers a short time before the member of the public located it,’ the police said in a statement. The Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards has said it is reviewing the incident. Inside the bag was a sub-machine gun, a pistol, Taser and some ammunition, according to reports. The force said: ‘At around 21:40 BST a member of the public called police after finding a bag containing Met-issued firearms and a Taser on a street in south London.'” (04/04/26)
“Several people were injured when a vehicle struck revelers at a parade celebrating the Lao New Year on Saturday in rural Louisiana, authorities said. The driver was quickly arrested and charged with impaired driving, police said. Video shared on social media showed multiple people on the ground at the annual event in Broussard and New Iberia. The videos showed firefighters tending to one person trapped beneath the car, which wound up in a ditch along the parade route. Around 15 people were hurt, some seriously, according to the Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office. ‘Based on the preliminary investigation, this does not appear to be an intentional act,’ said a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office, Rebecca Melancon.” (04/04/26)
“The U.S. and Israeli war has, from its very beginning, violated both U.S. domestic and international law. The legal consequences go beyond specific violations. Washington and Tel Aviv’s breaches of the UN Charter and other legal frameworks also undermine the very foundations of the rule of law. Even while international legal institutions too often lack sufficient capacity to enforce their decisions, they still provide a crucial framework for protest, for pressure on individual governments, and for the hope of a future world where the rule of law is paramount. Now, however, that future is in more danger than any other time in recent memory. Right now, Iranian civilians are paying the highest price. But the collapse of the rule of law makes the future more dangerous for everyone else, too.” (04/02/26)
