“Russia has ordered a British diplomat to leave the country over allegations of spying, the latest in a series of expulsions of embassy staff from both sides. The Federal Security Service (FSB) claims the man provided false information when applying to enter the country, as well as trying to obtain sensitive information during informal economic meetings, according to state media reports. The diplomat has had their accreditation revoked and has been ordered to leave the country within two weeks. A UK Foreign Office spokesman called the move ‘complete nonsense’ and accused Russia of an ‘aggressive and co-ordinated campaign of harassment against British diplomats.’ In a statement, they said Russia has been ‘pumping out malicious and completely baseless accusations about their work.’ ‘The UK does not stand for intimidation of British embassy staff and their families,’ they added.” (03/30/26)
“Israel’s Parliament on Monday passed a law approving the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of murdering Israelis. The bill’s passage marked the culmination of a years-long push by Israel’s far-right to escalate punishment for Palestinians convicted of nationalistic offenses against Israelis. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came to the chamber to vote yes in person. The law makes the death penalty — by hanging — the default punishment for West Bank Palestinians convicted for nationalistic killings. The law also gives Israeli courts the authority to impose either the death penalty or life imprisonment on its own citizens. It is not retroactive and will apply only to future cases. The measure has been harshly condemned by Israeli and Palestinian rights groups, who say it is racist, draconian and unlikely to deter attacks by Palestinian attackers.” (03/30/26)
“Spain has closed its airspace to U.S. planes involved in the Iran war, its defense minister said Monday, marking the latest step by Europe’s loudest opponent of U.S. and Israeli involvement in the conflict in the Middle East. The country earlier said the U.S. couldn’t use jointly operated military bases in the conflict, which Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has described as illegal, reckless and unjust. Defense Minister Margarita Robles said the same logic applied to the use of Spanish airspace in the conflict. ‘This was made perfectly clear to the American military and forces from the very beginning. Therefore, neither the bases are authorized, nor, of course, is the use of Spanish airspace authorized for any actions related to the war in Iran,’ Robles told reporters, and called the war in Iran ‘profoundly illegal and profoundly unjust.'” (03/30/26)
“The leader of a sex-focused women’s wellness company that promoted ‘orgasmic meditation’ was sentenced Monday to nine years in federal prison on forced labor charges, federal prosecutors said. Nicole Daedone, co-founder of OneTaste Inc., was also ordered to forfeit $12 million during the hearing in Brooklyn. That was the amount she sold the California-based company for, according to John Marzulli, spokesperson for the Office of U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. … Daedone’s lawyers didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment after the sentencing. Rachel Cherwitz, the company’s former sales director, was set to be sentenced later Monday. During the roughly one-month trial, prosecutors said the two women ran a yearslong scheme that groomed adherents — many of them victims of sexual trauma — to do their bidding.” (03/30/26)
“Match Group and its subsidiary OkCupid has finally settled a lawsuit with the Federal Trade Commission that dates back to its alleged sharing of user data back in 2014. According to the lawsuit, the FTC accused OkCupid of inappropriately sharing personal user data that includes photos and location info with a third party company, Clarifai, which offers AI-powered software for uses like facial recognition and content moderation. … ‘While we do not admit any wrongdoing, we have settled this matter with the FTC with no monetary penalty to resolve an issue from 2014 and move forward,’ an OkCupid spokesperson told Engadget, adding that the allegations don’t reflect how OkCupid operates today.” (03/30/26)
“Spain’s Catholic bishops and the Spanish government took another step Monday toward compensating victims of sexual abuse by clergy members who have died or whose possible crimes are too old to be prosecuted. In January, Spain’s Catholic bishops agreed to let the country’s ombudsman have the final say in the church’s compensation of such victims. The government and Spain’s bishops signed paperwork Monday detailing how the new church-state reparation system, which takes effect April 15, would work. The agreement, which envisages a one-year window for claims, marks a rare concession by the Catholic hierarchy. It’s aimed at resolving disagreements between the left-wing government and church authorities over reparations after victims criticized the church’s original in-house compensation proposal. Archbishop Luis Argüello, the president of the Spanish Episcopal Conference, said the text will not include number amounts for the compensation that sexual abuse victims could receive.” (03/30/26)
“President Donald Trump confirmed on Sunday that the military is building a ‘massive complex’ under the White House ballroom. … News outlets previously reported that a military bunker under the East Wing would be renovated. The East Wing was demolished in October to be replaced with a $400 million ballroom, which has sparked criticism from many Democrats and preservation advocates. Trump told reporters in his Sunday remarks that ‘the ballroom essentially becomes a shed for what’s being built under.’ … The National Capital Planning Commission is set to vote on the ballroom plans in April. It has received a deluge of negative public comments about the ballroom, with critics calling it ‘appalling,’ ‘shameful’ and ‘hideous.'” (03/30/26)
“Republicans are considering reductions in federal health spending to help pay for a budget bill containing as much as $200 billion to fund the Iran war and immigration enforcement. New efforts to rein in health programs are sure to be controversial and open the GOP up to election-year attacks that they’re cutting health care to pay for an unpopular war. … House Budget Committee chairman Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) is reviving an idea that was considered last year to fund Affordable Care Act payments known as cost-sharing reductions. The Congressional Budget Office previously found the move would lower overall benchmark ACA premiums by 11% but result in 300,000 more uninsured people. It would cut the subsidy amount that some enrollees receive, thereby increasing out-of-pocket premium costs, while saving the government over $30 billion.” (03/30/26)
“Bluesky has launched an AI assistant called Attie that allows users to design their own social media algorithms and create custom feeds within the company’s AT Protocol ecosystem. And let’s just say the response has been heated. Attie debuted this weekend at the ATmosphere conference, which Bluesky sponsors. But Bluesky’s userbase did not embrace the new product. Instead, about 125,000 users have already blocked Attie’s Bluesky account, making it the second most blocked account on the network, according to open source data. Attie only has 1,500 followers, meaning that about 83 times more users have blocked the account than followed it. The only account with more blocks than Bluesky’s AI agent is Vice President J.D. Vance, with about 180,000 blocks — Attie even surpassed the White House account (122,000 blocks) and the ICE account (112,460 blocks).” (03/30/26)
“The U.S. Department of Labor proposed a new rule on Monday that would allow people to invest alternative assets like cryptocurrency into their 401(k) plans. The department seeks to open 401(k) retirement investment up to assets like cryptocurrency, real estate and private-market assets. … There are already no restrictions on including alternative assets like cryptocurrency, real estate or private-market assets, though fiduciaries have treaded lightly on them out of fear that those assets may be challenged legally. The Labor Department’s proposed rule would create a ‘set of process-based safe harbors’ for plan fiduciaries, legally shielding them when they implement alternative assets.” (03/30/26)
