“Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, hosting his first monthly Christian worship service at the Pentagon since the Iran war began, prayed on Wednesday for American bullets to hit their targets. … The services proceeded even after a lawsuit was filed Monday over such gatherings by Americans United for Separation of Church and State. The advocacy group filed a similar suit against the Labour Department, where Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer also hosts monthly prayer gatherings inspired by Hegseth. The nonprofit group, in existence since 1948, said both officials were ‘abusing the power of their government positions and taxpayer-funded resources to impose their preferred religion on federal workers.'” (03/26/26)
“Transgender women athletes are now excluded from the Olympics after the IOC agreed to a new eligibility policy on Thursday which aligns with U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order on women’s sports ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Games. ‘Eligibility for any female category event at the Olympic Games or any other IOC event, including individual and team sports, is now limited to biological females,’ the International Olympic Committee said, ‘determined on the basis of a one-time SRY gene screening.'” (03/26/26)
“Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) told Axios she will ‘most likely’ vote for House Democrats’ resolution to constrain President Trump from waging war with Iran the next time it comes up for a vote. The vote is symbolic — even if the measure passed both chambers, Trump could veto it — but Mace’s support puts the House one step closer to a major rebuke of the administration’s Middle East operations. Mace emerged as a suddenly fierce critic of the Iran war this week, declaring Wednesday that she will vote against funding further operations in the region. … A war powers resolution forced to the floor earlier this month was rejected in a 212-219 vote, with four House Democrats breaking away from their leadership and voting against the measure. But most if not all of those Democrats are poised to flip the next time their party leadership forces a war powers vote, Axios reported on Tuesday.” (03/26/26)
“U.S.-listed cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (COIN) is working with Fannie Mae-approved mortgage firm Better Home & Finance Holding Co. (BETR), to enable crypto holders to use their digital assets as down payment collateral when buying a home. The mortgage is structured as a conforming loan backed by Fannie Mae, meaning it carries the same protections and standards as traditional mortgages, according to a press release on Thursday. Borrowers pledge bitcoin or the USDC stablecoin as collateral to fund their down payment, allowing them to keep their assets intact and avoid creating a taxable event by spending them. In the case of USDC, they can keep earnings rewards, Coinbase said.” (03/26/26)
“Vile Philadelphia protestors cheered as a masked ringleader celebrated the death of US service members in shocking new footage – before calling for Hamas rockets to explode across American homes. ‘For every US soldier that returns home in a casket, we cheer,’ the provocateur shouted outside Philadelphia’s city hall, according to footage filmed by local conservative activist Frankie Scales. ‘Until we have done everything in our power to bring the United States to its knees, let us not lose sight of the enemy,’ the man yelled, with the crowd cheering loudly at each hateful invocation.” [editor’s note: There’s an easy way to end the cheering … bring the troops home. “Problem” solved – TLK] (03/26/26)
“British Airways is offering a financial incentive to its pilots who reduce their planes’ fuel consumption, as the U.S.-Iran war continues to plague travel and drive up jet fuel prices. The airline’s pilots would have to cut their aircraft’s carbon dioxide emissions by 60,000 tons more than their 2025 levels to receive a bonus worth 1% of their base pay, according to documents viewed by Bloomberg News and reported on Tuesday. … The initiative comes as global airlines continue to struggle with soaring jet fuel prices amid the U.S. war with Iran. Iran’s blockage of the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20% of global oil supply passes, has caused prices to surge to over $100 per barrel.” (03/26/26)
“Wikipedia will no longer allow editors to write or rewrite articles using AI. The update, which was added to Wikipedia’s guidelines late last week, cites the tendency for AI-written articles to violate ‘several of Wikipedia’s core content policies’ as the reason for the ban. The change applies to the English version of Wikipedia and will still allow editors to use AI in certain scenarios. That includes using large language models to ‘suggest basic copyedits’ to their writing, but only if it ‘does not introduce content of its own.’ Editors can also use AI to translate articles from another language’s Wikipedia into English. However, they still must follow the site’s rules on LLM-assisted translations, which require editors to have enough knowledge of the original language to confirm the accuracy of the translation.” (03/26/26)
“European Union regulators are investigating Snapchat over concerns the platform isn’t doing enough to protect kids and exposing them to risks such as increased vulnerability to child predators or recruitment by criminals. The 27-nation EU’s executive Commission said Thursday it was opening a formal investigation into Snapchat under the bloc’s sweeping rule book known as the Digital Services Act that’s designed to [censor the Internet]. The European Commission said that Snapchat requires users to be at least 13 to use the platform but it suspected that the company’s ‘age assurance’ system is ‘insufficient’ at keeping them off. Regulators said the platform is also exposing teens to inappropriate content because it’s not properly checking whether a user is under 17. And they worried that age checking systems aren’t preventing adults from posing as minors.” (03/26/26)
“A water-borne drone struck a Turkish-operated crude oil tanker that had departed Russia, causing an explosion in the Black Sea near Istanbul’s Bosphorus strait on Thursday, Turkey’s transportation minister said. The incident, one of several in recent months involving Western-sanctioned vessels heading to or from Russian ports, occurred in the early hours, minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu told broadcaster Kanal 24. … Other commercial tankers carrying crude oil from Russian ports have been targeted over the past year by what some experts suggest is a state-sponsored sabotage campaign using limpet mines and other explosives. Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for these attacks. ” (03/26/26)
“U.S. Southern Command said it [murdered] four men in a strike on an alleged drug trafficking boat in the Caribbean on Wednesday, the latest attack by the Trump administration in its aggressive crackdown on narcotics trafficking. The Trump administration has [murdered] at least 163 people and destroyed at least 47 vessels it accuses of trafficking drugs in international waters since Sept. 2, according to a Pentagon posture statement and subsequent SOUTHCOM releases. Wednesday’s strike was the third publicly reported since the U.S. military began its war with Iran.” (03/26/26)
