“Germany holds the world’s second-largest gold reserves, and keeps 37 percent of them — some 1,236 metric tons, worth €113 billion — in the vaults of the New York Federal Reserve. Those holdings of precious metal guarantee that, should the need ever arise, the Bundesbank has access to something it can change into U.S. dollars (or any other hard currency). The very idea that they might not be safe would have been considered ridiculous from 1945 … until a couple of weeks ago. … German tabloid Bild, owned by POLITICO parent company Axel Springer, reported on Thursday that outgoing Christian Democratic Union (CDU) lawmaker Marco Wanderwitz is one of those concerned. Already in 2012, Wanderwitz had unsuccessfully requested to inspect the gold holdings as part of an effort to pressure the bank to either take a more active role as a custodian, or to repatriate it to Germany. ‘Of course, the question now arises again,’ Wanderwitz said in comments reported by Bild.” (03/31/25)
“SpaceX’s Starship megarocket, the world’s most powerful rocket, is officially on NASA’s list for future launches. NASA on Monday (March 31) announced that it has awarded SpaceX a launch services contract for Starship that adds the giant rocket to the private company’s roster, which already includes the reusable Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy boosters. The deal, called a NASA Launch Services II (NLS II) contract, allows SpaceX to pursue NASA launches on Starship rockets. … SpaceX has launched Starship on eight test flights since 2023, but has yet to successfully orbit the Earth or deploy payloads with the spacecraft. SpaceX launches the massive stainless steel rocket from Starbase facility near Boca Chica Beach in South Texas.” (03/31/25)
“France’s antitrust regulatory agency fined Apple millions of dollars, saying its digital framework negatively impacted online advertising via third-party pop-ups on Apple’s iOS and iPadOS operating systems. On Friday, France’s Competition Authority, or Autorité de la concurrence, issued a ruling that fined Apple more than $162 million alleging its App Tracking Transparency, or ATT, digital privacy framework caused ‘definite harm’ to advertisers and app publishers in violation of French antitrust laws which ‘could have been avoided by marginal modification’ to Apple’s framework.” (03/31/25)
“Two New York City police officers have been suspended after being charged with robbing and forcibly touching a sex worker while responding to a complaint about an illegal brothel, prosecutors said Monday. Officers Justin McMillan and Justin Colon intentionally turned off their body cameras as they broke into a residential building, stole money and forcibly touched a woman while on duty last July, according to Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz. The patrol officers, who were still on probationary status after entering the police academy in 2023, had been responding to a report of prostitution inside the building.” (03/31/25)
“President Donald Trump has pardoned a Virginia man whose sentence already was commuted for his convictions stemming from the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. Thomas Caldwell, a retired Navy intelligence officer, was tried alongside Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes but acquitted of seditious conspiracy — the most serious charge brought in the Jan. 6 attack. … A jury convicted Caldwell of obstructing Congress and of obstructing justice for tampering with documents after the riot. One of those convictions was dismissed in light of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year. … Prosecutors had alleged at trial that Caldwell helped coordinate ‘quick reaction force’ teams prosecutors said the Oath Keepers stationed outside the capital city to get weapons into the hands of extremists if they were needed. The weapons were never deployed, and lawyers for the Oath Keepers said they were only there for defensive purposes in case of attacks from left-wing activists.” (03/31/25)
“A New Mexico court is weighing whether to block the disclosure of an array of records from an investigation into the deaths of actor Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, at the request of the couple’s estate. Santa Fe-based Judge Matthew Wilson scheduled a hearing Monday to consider a request from estate representative Julia Peters to seal photos, video and documents to protect the family’s constitutional [sic] right [sic] to privacy. The court put a temporary hold on the release of records pending the hearing. … The bulk of death investigations by law enforcement and autopsy reports by medical investigators are typically considered public records under state law in the spirit of ensuring government transparency and accountability.” (03/31/25)
“Britain’s King Charles is returning to public duties this week after he was briefly taken to hospital last Thursday when he experienced side effects from his cancer treatment, a royal source said on Monday. The 76-year-old king has been undergoing treatment since he was diagnosed with an unspecified form of cancer in February last year following tests after a corrective procedure for an enlarged prostate. However, he suffered what sources described as a ‘minor bump in the road’ which meant he was taken to hospital for a short period of observation on Thursday, with the result he was forced to cancel some planned events at the end of the week.” (03/31/25)
“Iran’s military has reportedly readied ballistic missiles for possible launch against U.S. bases in the Middle East after President Donald Trump renewed his threat to wage war on the country if it does not reach an agreement with his administration regarding nuclear weapons — which American intelligence agencies have repeatedly found Tehran is not building. Trump discussed Iran during a Sunday phone call with NBC News'[s] Kristen Welker, telling her that ‘if they don’t make a deal, there will be bombing, and it will be bombing the likes of which they have never seen before’ …. Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran’s theocratic government, warned Monday that ‘if any hostile act is committed from outside, though the likelihood is not high, it will undoubtedly be met with a strong counterstrike.'” (03/31/25)
“A prominent computer scientist who has spent 20 years publishing academic papers on cryptography, privacy, and cybersecurity has gone incommunicado, had his professor profile, email account, and phone number removed by his employer, Indiana University, and had his homes raided by the FBI. … a small fleet of unmarked cars driven by government agents descended on the Bloomington home of [Xiaofeng] Wang and [Nianli] Ma on Friday. They spent most of the day going in and out of the house and occasionally transferred boxes from their vehicles. TV station WTHR, meanwhile, reported that a second home owned by Wang and Ma and located in Carmel, Indiana, was also searched. … Searches of federal court dockets turned up no documents related to Wang, Ma, or any searches of their residences. The FBI spokeswoman didn’t answer questions seeking which US district court issued the warrant and when, and whether either Wang or Ma is being detained by authorities.” (03/30/25)
“The world’s richest man is dying to figure out how lawmakers on Capitol Hill got ‘strangely wealthy’ despite their comparatively modest public salaries. Speaking at a town hall in Wisconsin Sunday night, Elon Musk suggested that his team at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) will investigate how certain members of Congress have achieved generational wealth. One attendee at the town hall had asked Musk if DOGE had uncovered evidence of funds wired from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to Rep. Maxine Waters [D-CA], Sen. Adam Schiff [D-CA] and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer [D-NY]. ‘They’ll [the government] send the money overseas to one NGO [non-governmental organization], then they’ll go through a bunch of them, and then I’m highly confident that a bunch of that money then comes back to the United States and lands in the pockets of the people you just mentioned,’ Musk replied.” (03/31/25)
