'Something Dark Is Going On': Nine Top-Level Scientists Die Or Go Missing In Past Year

 by Debra Heine via American Greatness,

In the span of nine months, nine top-level scientists in the United States have died or vanished without a trace.

Seven of them were connected to the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) or the institutions it directly funds.

AFRL develops and transitions the most sensitive aerospace technologies in the United States’ defense arsenal.

1) Monica Jacinto Reza vanished June 22, 2025 while hiking with friends in the Angeles National Forest in California.

She was last seen waving to a hiking companion approximately 30 feet behind the group. Despite an extensive search involving helicopters, drones, and canine units, only a beanie and lip balm were recovered, and her body was never found.

Reza, 60, was an aerospace engineer and Technical Fellow at Aerojet Rocketdyne who later moved to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)and co-inventor of Mondaloy.

Mondaloy is a family of nickel-based superalloys developed by Aerojet Rocketdyne to withstand oxygen-rich environments and extreme heat in rocket engines. Its unique achievement is balancing high oxygen compatibility with structural strength, solving a critical challenge where traditional oxygen-resistant alloys were too weak for use in high-pressure components like preburners and turbine rotors.

She worked closely with Retired Major General William Neil McCasland, who commanded the AFRL from 2011 to 2013 and oversaw the government funding for her alloy program. McCasland disappeared in February.

Dallas Hardwick, Reza’s mentor and co-inventor of Mondaloy, died on January 5, 2014, apparently of natural causes.

2) Melissa Casias has been missing since June 26, 2025, in Taos County, New Mexico.

She was last seen walking alone on Highway 518 near Talpa around 2:15 p.m., wearing a light-colored shirt, jeans, and tennis shoes, with a backpack containing personal items.

Casias, 53, was an administrative assistant at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), a facility known for nuclear weapons research and national security science.

Her job at LANL links her to McCasland, who worked closely with LANL on national security projects at Kirtland Air Force Base, according to the Daily Mail. She vanished just four days after Reza mysteriously disappeared.

3, 4, 5) Jacob Prichard, Jaymee Prichard, and 1st Lt. Jaime Gustitus all died on October 25, 2025.

Jacob Prichard, 34, was the Acquisition Project Manager in the AFRL Sensors Directorate at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, specializing in technologies for air and space reconnaissance and surveillance.

Jacob’s wife, Jaymee Prichard, 33, was a finance specialist at the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Wright-Patterson. The couple had three children.

Gustitus, 25, was a U.S. Air Force Operations Analysis Officer who worked in a top secret capacity at the 711th Human Performance Wing at Wright-Patterson.

Jacob allegedly killed his wife Jaymee and placed her body in the trunk of their car, then drove to Sugarcreek Township, broke into Gustitus’s apartment and fatally shot her around 2 a.m.

He then drove to the West Milton Municipal Building, opened the trunk for police to discover Jaymee’s body, and at around 4:23 a.m., committed suicide by gunshot in the parking lot. The act was reportedly captured on security cameras.

6) Carl Grillmair, astrophysicist and astronomer at the Caltech Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (IPAC), was shot dead on the front porch of his home in Llano, California on February 16, 2026.

Grillmair was celebrated for his groundbreaking research in astronomy, including the discovery of dozens of stellar streams (remnants of ancient galactic collisions) and the first detection of water signatures in the atmospheres of exoplanets. For over nearly 30 years at IPAC, he worked on numerous projects including the NEOWISE Science Data Center, where he validated data pipelines for detecting asteroids and comets that could impact Earth.

Grillmair’s role involved testing new instrumentation and ensuring the NEO Surveyor’s instruments performed to specification to identify dark, cold objects against the black of space.

7) William Neil McCasland, former AFRL Commander, former research commander at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico, vanished from his home in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on February 27, 2026.  A “Silver Alert” was issued after the 68-year-old disappeared.

He reportedly left his phone and glasses but took his wallet, boots, and a .38 revolver, with the FBI now assisting in his search.

McCasland held some of the most sensitive positions in the U.S. military, including Director of Special Programs at the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense, giving him critical knowledge of the nation’s most classified programs.

He reportedly oversaw $4.4 billion in classified aerospace research and development, running the lab at Wright-Patterson and serving as the executive secretary of the Special Access Program Oversight Committee, the body with full purview of every SAP in the Department of Defense. His name appears in WikiLeaks emails coordinating a UAP disclosure meeting with the Clinton campaign and the head of Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works, according to the Sentinel Network.

McCasland’s association with UFO research and brief professional association with Tom DeLonge and the To The Stars Academy have drawn significant public and media attention to the case.

According to The Sentinel, these mysterious deaths and disappearances do not amount to  “a loose collection of people who happened to work in defense.”

This is one documented system, traceable through patent filings, congressional testimony, DTIC records, and federal contract databases.

Reza vanished in LA County. Grillmair was killed in LA County. Both in the shadow of the JPL/Caltech corridor where America’s planetary defense infrastructure is built. McCasland vanished in Albuquerque, home of Kirtland AFB and Sandia National Labs. The Wright-Patterson deaths were in Dayton. These are not random locations. They are the three geographic nodes of American defense aerospace research. Southern California. New Mexico. Ohio. The triangle where AFRL lives.

And at every node, the same institutional silence. JPL said nothing about Reza. NASA said nothing. The AIAA said nothing. Caltech’s statement about Grillmair said he “passed away suddenly” without using the word “shot.” Wright-Patterson offered counseling services. In every case, the institution that lost someone chose the minimum possible disclosure. The silence is its own pattern inside the pattern.

8) Nuno F. Gomes Loureiro, a prominent Portuguese plasma physicist, was fatally shot at his home in Brookline, Massachusetts, on December 15, 2025 and died from his injuries the following day.

Authorities connected his murder to Cláudio Manuel Neves Valente, who had committed a shooting at Brown University two days prior; both men were classmates at the Instituto Superior Técnico in Portugal.

Loureiro, 47, held joint appointments as a professor in MIT’s Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering and Department of Physics and director of MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center.

He joined MIT in 2016 and was known for his work on nonlinear plasma dynamics, including the development of the Viriato simulation code and his research on solar flares and fusion confinement.

9) Jason Thomas, a chemical biologist, was reported missing on December 13, 2025, after leaving his home on the night of December 12 without his phone, wallet, or identification. He was found dead in Lake Quannapowitt in Wakefield, Massachusetts, on March 17, 2026.

Thomas, 45, was the assistant director at Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research with over 4,500 citations in chemical biology and chemoproteomics.  His work reportedly included active contracts with the Department of Defense.

Commenting on the string of deaths and disappearances, Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) told podcaster Benny Johnson last week that “Something dark is going on.”

“I know these scientists and researchers. They have testified. We’ve got to get to the bottom of it,” he said.  “It’s just too much, too much is going on right now—and by the way, I’m not suicidal.”

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/something-dark-going-nine-top-level-scientists-die-or-go-missing-past-year

4 Things To Know About SCOTUS Case That Could End Birthright Citizenship

 by Sam Dorman via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The Supreme Court is set to consider a landmark case challenging President Donald Trump’s bid to limit birthright citizenship.

The Supreme Court in Washington on Feb. 21, 2026. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times

The case, known as Trump v. Barbara, is set for oral argument on April 1.

Upon entering office, Trump signed an order barring the children of illegal immigrants born in the United States from securing citizenship. It also applies to mothers on temporary U.S. visas who give birth in the country.

The order has been blocked by local courts pending the high court’s decision.

The justices are expected to wrestle with the meaning of the citizenship clause of the 14th Amendment. That part of the amendment reads, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”

Here are some of the key questions in the case and how they’ve been debated.

What Does ‘Subject to the Jurisdiction Thereof’ Mean?

Much of the debate has focused on these five words from the amendment: “subject to the jurisdiction thereof.”

The wording of the 14th Amendment indicates that merely being born within U.S. borders is not enough for citizenship. That’s partially why the Supreme Court, in a 19th-century decision, said the children of foreign diplomats and those born in Native American territory do not receive citizenship.

One of the main questions before the Supreme Court is why and how these groups of people might differ from the children of illegal immigrants.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which is representing children and their mothers, has argued that people are subject to U.S. jurisdiction if they are obligated to follow its laws. Diplomats and Native Americans are excluded because they belong to other sovereign nations.

The Justice Department has focused more on the concept of allegiance, namely that illegal immigrant parents lack allegiance to the United States and therefore aren’t fully subject to the country’s jurisdiction.

Buses drop off large groups of illegal immigrants in San Ysidro, Calif., on Feb. 29, 2024. The Supreme Court is set to consider a case challenging President Donald Trump’s effort to limit birthright citizenship for children of illegal immigrants born in the United States. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

Did the Supreme Court Already Decide This Issue?

Last year, the Supreme Court issued a landmark decision lifting several blocks on Trump’s policy, but did so in a limited way. That decision, known as Trump v. CASA, only clarified how far judges could go in blocking the president.

The current case is inviting the justices to delve deeper into the 14th Amendment and one of its much older decisions from 1898. In United States v. Wong Kim Ark, the Supreme Court held that the 14th Amendment guaranteed birthright citizenship to a Chinese man whose parents were permanently domiciled in the United States.

Many federal judges have cited that decision to say that the Supreme Court already said the 14th Amendment granted citizenship to people born on U.S. soil—including those born to illegal immigrants.

When the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled on Trump’s policy, it pointed to a portion of the 1898 opinion that identified three exceptions: children of Native American tribes, those “born of aliens in hostile occupation,” and “children of diplomatic representatives of a foreign state.”

The Justice Department argued instead that the 19th-century decision applied only to children whose parents were domiciled, or residing with some kind of allegiance to the country.

It noted that the court repeatedly referred to domiciled status. For example, the majority opinion read, “Every citizen or subject of another country, while domiciled here, is within the allegiance and the protection, and consequently subject to the jurisdiction, of the United States.”

Another portion of the opinion said that Chinese persons owed allegiance to the United States and were entitled to its protection “so long as they are permitted by the United States to reside here.”

Chinese migrants settle at Willow Camp before being processed by Border Patrol agents in Jacumba, Calif., on Dec. 6, 2023. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

It’s unclear how the six conservative justices will rule, but the three liberal justices have already said in an opinion last year that Trump’s policy was “unquestionably unconstitutional.”

What Did Congress Intend When It Proposed the 14th Amendment?

The 14th Amendment was ratified in 1868 against the backdrop of the Civil War and the Supreme Court’s decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford, which held that slaves were not citizens.

The Justice Department said the United States overturned that decision with the 14th Amendment and the Civil Rights Act of 1866. That law specified that persons born in the United States, “and not subject to any foreign power, excluding Indians not taxed” were citizens.

That law and statements from members of Congress will likely bear on the Supreme Court’s decision-making, as many of the justices have been viewed as originalists, or giving especially strong weight to the nation’s history.

The Justice Department pointed to, among other things, what Sen. James Wilson of Iowa said about the Civil Rights Act of 1866.

At the time, he said, “We must depend on the general law relating to subjects and citizens recognized by all nations for a definition, and that must lead us to the conclusion that every person born in the United States is a natural-born citizen of such States, except ... children born on our soil to temporary sojourners or representatives of foreign Governments.”

A man holds a baby outside a coffee shop in Washington on March 11, 2026. Supreme Court justices are expected to weigh the meaning of the 14th Amendment’s citizenship clause, including whether birth within U.S. borders alone is sufficient for citizenship. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times

The ACLU said that Wilson’s comment was incorrect and conflicted with English common law, which has been cited in legal decisions such as Wong Kim Ark.

In a briefing to the Supreme Court, the ACLU cited English legal scholar William Blackstone. Writing in his “Commentaries on the Laws of England,” Blackstone said, “Natural allegiance is such as is due from all men born within the king’s dominions immediately upon their birth.”

Is Trump Violating Federal Law?

The ACLU and congressional Democrats have argued that outside of the 14th Amendment, Trump is also violating a federal law passed in the 20th Century.

The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, and its predecessor, known as the Nationality Act of 1940, used the 14th Amendment’s phrasing. It states in part that “the following shall be nationals and citizens of the United States at birth: a person born in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof.”

A long list of congressional Democrats filed an amicus, or friend of the court, brief telling the Supreme Court that regardless of what the 14th Amendment meant, Congress interpreted it as giving citizenship to the children of illegal immigrants when it enacted the 1952 legislation.

Because that was the lawmakers’ intent when they passed the bills, Democrats argued, the 1952 law was an independent reason to reject Trump’s executive order.

People protest outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington on May 15, 2025. Justices are hearing oral arguments over Trump’s effort to broadly enforce an executive order restricting automatic birthright citizenship. Nathan Howard/File Photo/Reuters

The administration argued that because the laws were transplanting language from the 14th Amendment, the original meaning of the amendment—not how Congress interpreted it—should rule.

Legal scholar Ed Whelan speculated that the Supreme Court might focus on the Immigration and Nationality Act but refuse to rule on the meaning of the 14th Amendment.

“My guess is that the Chief will be part of a supermajority of the Court that rules that the [executive order] violates section 1401(a) and that declines to address the constitutional question,” he said in a post on X.

Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor who worked on immigration issues, disagreed.

“Although courts, including the Supreme Court, avoid constitutional rulings when cases can be decided on narrower statutory grounds, the [Immigration and Nationality Act] mirrors the language of the 14th Amendment, so the justices are unlikely to rely on statutory authority alone,” he told The Epoch Times.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/4-things-know-about-scotus-case-could-end-birthright-citizenship

Projectile damages tanker off Qatar, UK says

 An "unknown projectile" struck and damaged a tanker 17 nautical miles north of Doha, Qatar, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said.

The hit caused damage to the hull of the tanker above the water line, the UKMTO noted, adding that the crew is reported as safe and that there's "no environmental impact."

https://breakingthenews.net/Article/Projectile-damages-tanker-off-Qatar-UK-says/65992227

Aramco-Dow joint venture Sadara Chemical halts production amid supply chain disruptions

 Sadara Chemical Co., a joint venture between Saudi state oil ​giant Aramco and US chemicals firm ‌Dow, has temporarily shut down production at its parent-operated plant, citing ongoing supply chain disruptions.

Sadara Chemical operates a ‌complex in ‌the Saudi ​city ‌of Jubail ⁠with ​annual production ⁠capacity of over 3 million metric tonnes of chemicals and plastics.

The suspension was announced in a regulatory filing by Sadara ⁠Basic Services, which ‌issues Islamic ‌bonds for its parent.

The shutdown comes as the conflict involving Iran, the US and Israel continues to resonate across the Middle East, disrupting supply chains, constraining the movement of feedstock and finished products, and heightening risks to critical energy and industrial infrastructure.

The escalation has added pressure on petrochemical producers in the Gulf, where operations are closely tied to regional logistics networks and export routes.

A Tadawul statement said: “Sadara cannot provide, at the present time, an estimate for the return to production, as this is contingent on domestic and international factors.”

It added: “The shutdown is expected to have an impact on the financial results for 2026.”

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2638284/amp

Vertex Positive Interim Results for Phase 3 of Povetacicept in IgA Nephropathy

 - For the primary endpoint, patients treated with povetacicept achieved a 52.0% reduction from baseline in proteinuria as measured by 24-hour urine protein to creatinine ratio (UPCR) and achieved a statistically significant and clinically meaningful 49.8% reduction in UPCR versus placebo (P<0.0001) –

- For the first secondary endpoint, povetacicept treatment led to a 77.4% reduction from baseline in serum Gd-IgA1, resulting in a statistically significant and clinically meaningful reduction of 79.3% (P<0.0001) versus placebo; for the second secondary endpoint, 85.1% of povetacicept-treated patients achieved hematuria resolution, resulting in a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement of 61.7% (P<0.0001) versus placebo –

- Povetacicept was generally safe and well tolerated –

- Vertex to complete Biologics License Application by the end of March for potential U.S. Accelerated Approval –

https://news.vrtx.com/news-releases/news-release-details/vertex-announces-positive-week-36-interim-analysis-results

MD, PharmD degrees deliver highest returns: Study

 The economic return of graduate degrees varies across fields, with professional degrees in medicine and pharmacy delivering some of the highest gains, according to a report published in March.

The analysis draws on administrative data from the Texas Education Research Center to estimate labor market returns for 121 advanced degrees. It was conducted by Joseph Altonji, PhD, an economics professor at Yale University in New Haven, Conn., and a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, and Zhengren Zhu, PhD, an assistant professor of economics at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. 

Across all programs, graduate degrees increase earnings by about 17% on average, though returns vary significantly by field. Accounting for tuition costs and foregone earnings while enrolled reduces the increase in total lifetime income relative to earnings gains, in some cases substantially.

Returns also differ by student and program characteristics. Earnings gains tend to be higher for women, higher for students coming from lower-paying undergraduate majors and lower for part-time students. 

Here are the cost-adjusted returns among 18 of the most common graduate degrees, according to the authors:

• MD: 173% 
• PharmD: 68%
• JD: 41%
• MPA: 26%
• Civil engineering: 19%
• Biology: 14%
• MBA: 13%
• Nursing: 12%
• Education administration: 8%
• Computer science: 6%
• Electrical engineering: 4%
• Mechanical engineering: 4%
• Architecture: 4%
• Computer engineering: 2%
• Curriculum and instruction: -2%
• Social work: -2%
• Clinical psychology: -5%
• Psychology: -8%

https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/workforce/md-pharmd-degrees-deliver-highest-returns-study/

131 hospitals sue HHS over DSH cuts

 More than 130 hospitals have filed a lawsuit against HHS challenging how the agency calculates disproportionate share hospital payments, arguing the policy unlawfully reduces reimbursement for facilities serving low-income patients.

The complaint, filed March 30 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, names HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and centers on the agency’s treatment of Medicare Advantage Part C patient days in DSH payment calculations. 

Five things to know: 

1. The hospitals argue CMS’ 2023 final rule — which retroactively applies a policy including certain Medicare Advantage days in the Medicare fraction while excluding them from the Medicaid fraction — improperly reduces DSH payments.

2. DSH payments aim to support hospitals that care for a disproportionate share of low-income patients. They are calculated using a “disproportionate patient percentage,” which includes both a Medicaid fraction and a Medicare Supplemental Security Income fraction.

3. Hospitals allege that CMS’ methodology skews both fractions in ways that reduce reimbursement. The complaint alleges that:

• HHS is attempting to reimplement a policy change first introduced in 2004 that courts have repeatedly rejected or limited.
• The agency’s 2023 rule applies the policy retroactively to earlier cost reporting periods, which the hospitals argue exceeds HHS’ statutory authority.
• The policy results in undercounting low-income patient days, thereby reducing DSH payments owed to hospitals.

4. The plaintiffs are seeking to have the rule vacated and to require HHS to recalculate DSH payments using the pre-2004 methodology, along with payment of additional reimbursement and interest.

5. The lawsuit follows years of legal disputes over DSH payment formulas. In April 2025, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of HHS in a separate case concerning how SSI-related patient days are counted, a decision hospital groups said could affect at least $1 billion a year. Meanwhile, hospitals have pushed back on broader reductions to DSH funding, including CMS policies projected to cut billions in payments to safety-net hospitals. 

Becker’s has reached out to HHS for comment and will update this story if more information becomes available. 

https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/legal-regulatory-issues/131-hospitals-sue-hhs-over-dsh-cuts-5-notes/

US 'ready to thwart' Iran's attacks after IRGC threats

 The White House stated that the US armed forces are prepared to deter any Iranian attack regarding the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' (IRGC) threats against US-linked companies in the region, Politico shared on Tuesday.

A White House official said in a statement shared by the media outlet that the country's military "is and was ​prepared to curtail any attacks by Iran, as evidenced by the ​90% drop ​in ballistic missile and drone attacks ‌by ⁠the terrorist regime."

The IRGC warned employees of several US-related companies in the Middle East earlier today to evacuate since Tehran will start targeting the facilities of these companies on April 1, which include tech giants like Palantir, Nvidia, Meta, and Microsoft.

https://breakingthenews.net/Article/US-'ready-to-thwart'-Iran's-attacks-after-IRGC-threats/65990963

Trump Ends Costly Medicaid Accounting Gimmicks

 Politicians have perfected the craft of campaigning on fiscal responsibility, only to govern as if taxpayer dollars grow on trees. Nowhere is the failure of elected officials to rein in public spending more glaring than in Medicaid, which is ballooning into an unaccountable $1 trillion-a-year entitlement. However, common sense reforms enacted in President Trump’s Working Families Tax Cuts finally put an end to budget gimmicks that states have used to inflate federal spending for decades.

Originally designed as a partnership between the federal government and the states, Medicaid has devolved into a financial shell game. States figured out they can game the system by taxing health care providers, and then immediately recycle those funds back to the same providers to artificially inflate their reported Medicaid expenditures. This increased spending on paper, in turn, allows state governments to bilk federal tax dollars by triggering higher Medicaid matching funds without making meaningful contributions of their own.

Entitlement programs are easy targets for political demagoguery, which helps explain why attempts at substantive reform often fail. Yet, President Trump’s crackdown on this long-running scheme proves elected officials can still summon the courage necessary to challenge entrenched interests while strengthening a critical safety net for those who need it most. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the legislation’s provisions dealing with provider taxes and state-directed payments alone will save taxpayers over $330 billion over the next decade.

What makes this scheme so infuriating is how long it has been allowed to fester under federal lawmakers’ noses. As early as the 1990s, the GAO was warning Congress that state legislatures were engaging in “illusory” approaches to shift the cost of Medicaid onto the federal government. Toothless legislation enacted by Congress at the time not only failed to rein in the scheme but effectively provided states with additional legal loopholes to exploit.

Democrats and Republicans alike have acknowledged that provider taxes are a real problem. President Obama’s budget framework in 2012 and 2013 proposed capping provider taxes, and, in 2011, then-Vice President Joe Biden even referred to them as a “scam” during budget negotiations with Congress. Despite being aware of this abuse, lawmakers have consistently prioritized political expediency over pushing for tough reforms that hold politically influential health care lobbies accountable.

The reforms tackle the provider tax scheme head-on by targeting the main accounting games states have exploited to siphon federal tax dollars. For years, federal rules allowed states to tax providers up to 6% of their revenue and automatically count that money toward their Medicaid share, even when those funds were funneled back to providers. This legislation immediately freezes these existing taxes and gradually lowers that limit to 3.5% in states that expanded Medicaid.

The bill also reins in the practice of state-directed payments, a loophole state governments have used to channel kickbacks to hospitals and nursing homes. In recent years, states have used these “supplemental” payments to funnel extra Medicaid funds to favored providers, in some cases paying rates similar to what private insurers pay, even though Medicaid is meant to be a low-cost safety net. The President’s reforms cap these payments at Medicare rates in most states, cutting off a major source of inflated spending.

These reforms will help turn around a program that has been mismanaged for far too long. Today, thanks to the uncontrolled growth of the provider tax scheme and new mandates enacted by Obamacare, the federal government shoulders nearly two-thirds of total Medicaid spending. Because Medicaid is structured as an open-ended entitlement, every dollar a state “spends” through provider taxes is matched by federal funds with no upper limit. Knowing that the federal government will pick up most of the tab, states have fewer incentives to root out wasteful spending and be prudent custodians of their Medicaid programs.

This lack of accountability has solidified Medicaid’s position as one of the top five federal programs for improper payments, according to the GAO. In fiscal year 2025 alone, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services estimated improper payments in Medicaid totaled just over $37 billion, nearly a $6 billion increase from the previous year.

This massive amount of wasteful spending isn’t just an insult to taxpayers. Every dollar lost to fraudulent and erroneous payments is a dollar not spent on caring for pregnant mothers, people with disabilities, and low-income seniors. Allowing this abuse to continue unabated isn’t just bad public policy—it’s a betrayal of the people Medicaid was created to protect. The reforms enacted by President Trump will help make this important program more efficient, less wasteful, and more accountable to taxpayers.

Alexander Ciccone is the Policy and Government Affairs Manager at the National Taxpayers Union

https://www.realclearhealth.com/articles/2026/03/31/president_trump_ends_costly_medicaid_accounting_gimmicks_1173792.html

Iran 'Prepared To End War' If Security Guaranteed, But Still No Direct Negotiations - Just 'Messages'

 

Summary

• President Pezeshkian: prepared to end war with guarantees against further attacks.

• IRGC warns it will hit 18 US tech companies in region, says Siemens in Israel already attack

• China, Pakistan issue broad five-point framework for peace (document below); France, Italy begin to block airspace for Iran-related US ops

• WarSec Hegseth saw "upcoming days will be decisive", strikes will continues without any deal - says "regime fragmenting"

• President Trump signals off-ramp, tells world "go get your own oil", says Iran 'decimated'. Tells NYP the strait could 'automatically open'

• Isfahan, home to much of Iran's enriched uranium and a sprawling 'missile city' - was pounded hard overnight by US 2,000-pound bunker buster bombs.

*  *  *

Iran FM Clarifies Not Negotiating with US, But Messages Sent

Iran's Foreign Minister Aragchi has clarified some things to AI Jazeera regarding diplomatic engagement with the US on potentially ending the war. The main takeaway is his explanation that what is happening now does not constitute negotiations in Tehran's view, but an exchange of messages directly or through our friends in the region (namely Pakistan).

He said that all communication concerning diplomacy and the war is routed through the Foreign Ministry and overseen by the National Security Council. They have neither responded to reported US proposals nor submitted their own, stressing that no decision on talks has been made. Instead of a ceasefire, Iran is calling for a full regional end to the war, along with guarantees against future attacks and compensation for damages.

Aragchi emphasize that Iran is acting defensively, not initiating conflict, and is targeting only US assets - not regional allies per se. The Strait of Hormuz remains open to friendly shipping but could be restricted for adversaries, he continued. While warning they are prepared for escalation, Iran also acknowledges tensions with neighboring countries may rise, though they believe trust can eventually be restored.

Oil Plunges on Iran Overture

A big developing headline has sent oil plunging...

IRAN'S PRESIDENT PEZESHKIAN STATES THEY ARE PREPARED TO END THE WAR IF THEY RECEIVE GUARANTEES

Iranian President Pezeshkian says Iran seeks no war but is prepared to end it with guarantees against further attacks, per state PressTV:

• The US-Israeli military aggression against Iran is an unprecedented crime and a flagrant violation of international law.
• Iran engaged in good-faith talks with the US, only to be illegally attacked mid-negotiation—proving the US rejects diplomacy.
• Neighboring countries hosting US bases failed to prevent their territories from being used to attack Iran.
• The solution is an end to aggression; Iran seeks no war but is prepared to end it with guarantees against further attacks.
• Europe should drop its destructive approach and engage with Iran professionally and in line with international law.

A big question will be whether this could represent an IRGC vs. civilian government divide, as far as whether this peace overture sticks. Also, the US and Israel would have to both agree to halt the ongoing aerial strikes, but it's not at all clear whether the Netanyahu government would be on board with ceasefire, given many believe Israel's objectives are much more expansive, oriented toward total regime collapse.

Trump: Hormuz Strait to 'Automatically Open'(?)

"When we leave the strait will automatically open," President Trump has told the New York Post Tuesday, when asked whether he's considering ending action in Iran without reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

"Well, I think it’ll automatically open, but my attitude is, I’ve obliterated the country. They have no strength left, and let the countries that are using the strait, let them go and open it… because I would imagine whoever’s controlling the oil will be very happy to open the strait," Trump continued. "But we won’t have to be there much longer - but we have more work to do in terms of killing their offensive, whatever offensive capability they have left."

AntiWar.com's Dave DeCamp points out a certain circular reasoning and sad reality of where the situation stands: "The goal of the war has become fixing a problem that didn't exist before the war."

IRGC Threatens US Tech Companies in Region

The IRGC has reportedly threatened to target the Middle East operations of 18 US technology companies starting Wednesday night. It warned of this escalation should any more senior military commanders or government leaders be assassinated. Among companies named in a statement include Apple, Google, Tesla, Microsoft, Intel, Oracle, IBM, Meta, Nvidia, Boeing, and others.

This may have already started happening in terms of the ongoing Iranian bombardment of Israel - though the ballistic missiles are said to be less frequent compared to opening weeks of the war. Newsquawk: "Iran's Army says they have targeted industries belonging to Siemens and AT&T in Ben Gurion and Haifa." Confirmed in state media (based on emerging reports, they are Cisco, HP, Intel, Oracle, Microsoft, Apple, Google, Meta, IBM, Dell, Palantir, NVIDIA, JPMorgan, Tesla, General Electric, Spire Solutions, G42, Boeing)

US Claims Iran Fragmenting, High Level Desertions

Among Hegseth's earlier themes which we said signaled preparation for an 'offramp' is that he asserted that heavy US strikes on Iran are fragmenting the regime, and greatly dampening morale among Tehran authorities.

"Our strikes are damaging the morale of the Iranian military, leading to widespread desertions, key personnel shortages and causing frustrations amongst senior leaders," Hegseth said at the morning Pentagon briefing on Tuesday. Also, Gen. Caine added that "The joint force continues to degrade and destroy Iran’s ability to project power and threaten stability beyond its borders." President Trump has followed in words given to NYP that he doesn't expect the war to continue for much longer, telling Americans they can 'soon' expect an end - in a repeat of similar remarks from last week.

France, Italy Block Airspace for Some US Planes Operating In Iran

France has reportedly refused to allow the United States to use its airspace to transport weapons for the Iran conflict -marking the first such denial since the war began, according to Reuters. This follows a similar move by Spain, signaling growing reluctance and angst among key European allies to facilitate US military logistics. At the same time, Italy has denied certain US aircraft access to an airbase in Sicily, though officials there insist the issue stems from procedural violations, specifically that the Pentagon failed to obtain proper authorization before requesting landing clearance.

Italian officials emphasize that all requests must comply with established agreements and legal frameworks, which require case-by-case approval and, in some cases, parliamentary oversight. This legal positioning provides the Meloni government with a way to limit involvement (and so domestic fall-out among largely anti-war youth) while maintaining formal cooperation, even as domestic opposition to the conflict and unease over US interventionism continue to grow.

China-Pakistan Issue 5-Point Peace Framework

China and Pakistan on Tuesday issued a five-point initiative for restoring peace in the Gulf and Middle East, after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar in Beijing. These countries have taken the lead, with Islamabad playing host to shuttle diplomacy - after earlier Egypt and Turkey also sent their top diplomats for a Sunday summit. In short, it is broken down according these five points and headings, laying out a broad path for Iran war ceasefire and permanent truce:

I. Immediate Cessation of Hostilities: China and Pakistan call for immediate cessation of hostilities and utmost efforts to prevent the conflict from spreading.

II. Start of peace talks as soon as possible.

III. Security of nonmilitary targets.

IV. Security of shipping lanes.

V. Primacy of the United Nations Charter.

Notably, there's nothing in here about 'denuclearization' of Iran or anything touching on what might be US-Israeli strategic aims, but instead it is quite ambiguous and broad as a proposed starting point. This comes as the US has signaled it could be open to an offramp or peace deal even if the Hormuz Strait remains under Iran's de facto control. Here is the document issued by Pakistan's official Ministry of Foreign Affairs accounts on social media:

Secretary of War Hegseth Says 'Upcoming Days Will Be Decisive', 'Damaging Iran Military Morale'

WarSec Hegseth's comments were not quite a "Mission Accomplished" but definitely a reflection on the courage and completion of "systematically destroy" Iran's military capabilities. Hegseth said he visited US troops involved in operations against Iran over the weekend, describing a campaign that is intensifying as American firepower ramps up while Iran’s capabilities decline.

He stressed that "upcoming days will be decisive," acknowledging Iran is still expected to launch missiles but adding, "we will shoot down" incoming threats. According to Hegseth, sustained US strikes are not only degrading military assets but also "damaging Iran military morale" and triggering "widespread Iran military desertions." And another key line:

"We would much prefer to get a deal. If Iran was willing to relinquish material they have and ambitions they have, open the strait, great. That's the goal. We don't want to have to do more militarily than we have to."

He went further, claiming "regime change has occurred in Iran," while warning that if Tehran refuses to make a deal, Washington will press ahead. “If Iran isn’t willing to make deal, US will continue,” he said, adding that strikes will persist "with more intensity" in the absence of an agreement.

*  *  *

Off-Ramp Imminent? Trump Tells World "Go Get Your Own Oil" Via Strait After 'Decimating' Iran

There's been a lot of speculation that the White House is preparing to find a 'mission accomplished' declaration moment, as 'any offramp will do' as a way to avoid a costly potential quagmire of introducing ground troops, and we may be seeing the start of one.

After comments apparently leaked to The Wall Street Journal overnight that Trump is willing to leave Iran with the Strait unopened, the President has clarified his thinking in his out loud voice this morning.

President Trump has posted on social media this morning, clearly signaling he is further down the road towards an off-ramp:

All of those countries that can’t get jet fuel because of the Strait of Hormuz, like the United Kingdom, which refused to get involved in the decapitation of Iran, I have a suggestion for you:

Number 1, buy from the U.S., we have plenty, and

Number 2, build up some delayed courage, go to the Strait, and just TAKE IT.

You’ll have to start learning how to fight for yourself, the U.S.A. won’t be there to help you anymore, just like you weren’t there for us.

Iran has been, essentially, decimated.

The hard part is done. Go get your own oil!

President DJT

The reaction was a drop in the price of oil...

...and stocks rising...

Nothing dramatic in either - as traders remain nervous of Trump-Talk still - but nevertheless, as Goldman's Rich Privorotsky noted overnight (in a seemingly precognitive comment before Trump's tweet), this is shaping up like an off-ramp:

After ~5 weeks of conflict "President Trump told aides he's willing to end the U.S. military campaign against Iran even if the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed" (WSJ).

Politically messy (especially in GCC...less so domestically), but probably the least bad short-term pathway (can argue LT worse).

There’s a press conference at 8am EST from the Defense Department.

Overnight saw meaningful escalation… Iran struck a heavily laden oil tanker in Dubai port… a very explicit signal around control of shipping.

Likely in response to US actions around nuclear facilities in Isfahan

(Trump on his Truth Social posted uncaptioned video of large explosion 5 hours ago).

The most bullish near term outcome would be a “mission accomplished” style announcement...

i.e. nuclear capabilities set back materially (say 10–20 years), allowing the US to step away.

No edge here, frankly could be anything but will be watching.  

...

The key shift then remains the Strait.

If the US pauses while Iran maintains some level of disruption, the pressure flips… China, Korea, Japan, India, Europe and the GCC all become directly incentivized to force flows back online.

Even partial restrictions (e.g. US/Israeli vessels) are manageable…so a unilateral victory could actually restart flows and shift pressure to ROW to get strait moving. 

2,000-pound Bunker Buster Bombs Hit Isfahan Hard Overnight

Videos and reporting from the region has made clear that the central Iranian city of Isfahan has been hit very hard in the latest US-Israeli strikes. A major ammunition depot and other "military-linked" sites were attacked using 2,000-lb bunker busters. Isfahan is the Islamic Republic's third-most populous city and is believe to host majority of the nation's highly enriched uranium as well as a sprawling "missile city".

The Wall Street Journal reported that a "high volume of bunker busters, or penetrator munitions, was used for the strike" at a large ammunition depot, creating immense fireballs.

US forces have now hit more than 11,000 targets over the monthlong war, focusing heavily on degrading Iran's missile, drone, as well as nuclear power and development sites.

CBC has written, "The attacks were testament to the intensity of the month-long war the U.S. and Israel launched against Iran, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested in an interview that Israel has achieved more than half of its war aims."

The heavy overnight explosions were widely recorded, being viewed for miles around:

"Isfahan is home to one of three sites earlier attacked by the U.S. military last year. NASA fire-tracking satellites suggest explosions happened in a mountainous region on the city's southern edge," the report described further, noting that Iran has yet to confirm the attack. President Trump previously warned on Truth Social, "Great progress has been made but, if for any reason a deal is not shortly reached, which it probably will be, and if the Hormuz Strait is not immediately ‘Open for Business’. He continued: "we will conclude our lovely ‘stay’ in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!), which we have purposefully not yet ‘touched’."

As for the ordinance used, "bunker buster" refers to a class of bombs engineered to drive deep beneath the surface - particularly through rock, soil, or reinforced concrete - before detonating. The technology was honed and widely used by the US during the Persian Gulf War of 1991.

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/ramp-imminent-trump-tells-world-go-get-your-own-oil-strait-after-decimating-iran