“New York is on the verge of becoming the next state to ban cellphone use during school hours — a victory for its Democratic governor who has been pushing to drastically limit the ‘endless disruptions from social media’ on students. Gov. Kathy Hochul and lawmakers are hashing out the parameters of a full-day ‘bell-to-bell’ restriction — one of the most sweeping issues the governor has championed during her tenure. Legislative leaders signed onto the thorny proposal this year, and are awaiting policy language as they work past Monday’s deadline to pass the state’s $252 billion budget.” (04/01/25)
“Top minds at the world’s largest atom smasher have released a blueprint for a much bigger successor that could vastly improve research into the remaining enigmas of physics. The plans for the Future Circular Collider — a nearly 91-kilometer (56.5-mile) loop along the French-Swiss border and below Lake Geneva — published late Monday put the finishing details on a project roughly a decade in the making at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research. The FCC would carry out high-precision experiments in the mid-2040s to study ‘known physics’ in greater detail, then enter a second phase — planned for 2070 — that would conduct high-energy collisions of protons and heavy ions that would ‘open the door to the unknown,’ said Giorgio Chiarelli, a research director at Italy’s National Institute of Nuclear Physics.” (04/01/25)
“The United States military launched a series of air attacks on Yemen overnight, targeting Houthi rebels [sic]. Strikes hit an area near the capital, Sanaa, as well as the northern province of Saada early on Tuesday as the US extended a bombing campaign against targets in Yemen that began in mid-March and has killed dozens of people. The Houthi-affiliated Al Masirah TV reported that US forces launched 15 raids on the northern province of Saada, including the city of Saada and the districts of Majz and Sahar. Mount Nabi Shuaib, in the Bani Matar district of Sanaa province, was also reported to have been targeted. There was no immediate report of casualties.” (04/01/25)
“China has launched a new round of military exercises around Taiwan in its latest ‘warning’ to the island’s democratic government. The Chinese military said on Tuesday that the drills served as a ‘powerful deterrent’ to ‘separatist forces’ advocating Taiwanese independence. … China [pretends] Taiwan, a self-ruled democracy, [is] part of its territory and has pledged to take control of the island by force if necessary.” (04/01/25)
“With the successful launch of SpaceX’s Fram2 mission on Monday night, an all-civilian crew is attempting to do what professional astronauts have never tried — orbit the Earth from pole to pole. Riding on top of a Falcon 9 rocket, a SpaceX Dragon lifted off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida just after 9:46 p.m. and carried the team into a 90-degree polar orbit. During the three to five-day mission, the autonomous Dragon will repeatedly travel from the North Pole to the South Pole at an altitude of 267 miles, with each orbit taking about 46 minutes. The privately funded mission is being led by Maltese cryptocurrency entrepreneur Chun Wang. Wang is joined by Jannicke Mikkelsen, a Norwegian film director and cinematographer, Rabea Rogge, a robotics researcher from Berlin and Eric Philips, a self-described professional polar adventurer.” (03/31/25)
“The Palestinian terror group Hamas is executing and kidnapping the very people of Gaza it claims to be fighting for. Days after thousands of angry Gazans took to the streets in a rare show of dissent against Hamas, the group responded with a brutal crackdown, executing at least six protesters. Many others have been publicly flogged, several kidnapped, and numerous Gazans remain missing, according to reports on mainstream and social media. … Although Gaza saw uprisings in 2019 and 2023, they were swiftly suppressed by Hamas. The threat of violent crackdowns often kept Gazans from taking to the streets for years.” (03/31/25)
“Russia has ordered the largest increase in conscription since the Ukraine war began as a further 160,000 servicemen are called up to the frontline. The planned draft size has increased from 150,000 in 2024 and 134,500 in 2022, when Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine. It comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered Russia to boost the size of its army to 1.5 million active servicemen — an increase of some 180,000 troops over three years. This is despite growing efforts from the United States to bring forward a ceasefire to the three-year-old conflict with Putin being accused of delaying the peace process. Despite the Kremlin’s claim that those called-up are not linked to the war in Ukraine, Kyiv has said throughout the conflict that it has taken Russian conscripts captive and Putin previously admitted that some had been sent to fight by mistake.” (03/31/25)
“The S&P 500 clawed back earlier losses on Monday to end the session higher, as traders nervously looked ahead to President Donald Trump’s tariff plans. The broad market index added 0.55% to close at 5,611.85. At one point, it fell as much as 1.7% and traded 10% below its record. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.14% and closed at 17,299.29. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 417.86 points, or 1%, to settle at 42,001.76. … The broad market S&P 500 is nearly 9% below a record set in February. It also hit its lowest level since September on Monday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq also reached levels not seen since September and is 14% below its all-time high set in December.” (03/31/25)
“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)
