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Bitcoin Well Enables Lightning Network On The Bitcoin Portal In The USA

Investing 4 Mins Read

(TheNewswire)

Edmonton, Alberta March 25, 2025 TheNewswire – Bitcoin Well Inc. (‘ Bitcoin Well ‘ or the ‘ Company ‘) ( TSXV: BTCW; OTCQB: BCNWF ), the non-custodial bitcoin business on a mission to enable independence announces the addition of the Lightning Network in the USA as a method of immediate delivery after a bitcoin purchase. This means US customers in all 50 states can now buy bitcoin and have it sent to their personal bitcoin wallets on the Lightning Network, saving money on blockchain transaction costs and preventing wallet bloat.

This move will also reduce Bitcoin Well transaction expenses as it reduces the cost to send bitcoin to customer’s personal bitcoin wallets. Further, it enables customers to buy smaller amounts, more frequently, which is in line with our ethos to ‘Replace your bank with Bitcoin Well’

‘The Lightning Network makes it faster and easier for our customers to buy bitcoin more often while taking self-custody’ explained Adam O’Brien, founder and CEO of Bitcoin Well. ‘I expect this addition will earn us more transactions from customers, especially as we add the ability to sell over Lightning and Swap to and from the main chain in the coming weeks.’

Customers can buy bitcoin one-time or with a Recurring Buy with money directly from their bank. They can have their paychecks deposited to Bitcoin Well and converted to bitcoin, or they can use their Cash Balance to convert dollars to bitcoin. And now, their bitcoin can be instantly delivered to their Lightning wallet with no additional fees. This advancement in our products enables our customers to buy more frequently without the fear of on-chain fees or UTXO management.

About Bitcoin Well

Bitcoin Well is on a mission to enable independence. We do this by making bitcoin useful to everyday people to give them the convenience of modern banking and the benefits of bitcoin. We like to think of it as future-proofing money. Our existing Bitcoin ATM and Online Bitcoin Portal business units drive cash flow to help fund this mission.

Join our investor community and follow us on Nostr , , and to keep up to date with our business.

Bitcoin Well contact information

To book a virtual meeting with our Founder & CEO Adam O’Brien please use the following link: https://bitcoinwell.com/meet-adam

For additional investor & media information, please contact:

Adam O’Brien

Tel: 1 888 711 3866

ir@bitcoinwell.com

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release .

Forward-looking information

Certain statements contained in this news release may constitute forward-looking information, which is often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as ‘anticipate’, ‘plan’, ‘estimate’, ‘expect’, ‘may’, ‘will’, ‘intend’, ‘should’, or the negative thereof and similar expressions. All statements herein other than statements of historical fact constitute forward-looking information including, but not limited to, statements in respect of Bitcoin Well’s business plans, strategy and outlook. Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information including, but not limited to, the risk factors described in Bitcoin Well’s annual information form and management’s discussion and analysis for the year ended December 31, 2023. Forward-looking information should not be unduly relied upon. Any forward-looking information contained in this news release represents Bitcoin Well’s expectations as of the date hereof and is subject to change. Bitcoin Well disclaims any intention or obligation to revise any forward-looking information, except as required by applicable securities legislation.

Copyright (c) 2025 TheNewswire – All rights reserved.

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Cizzle Brands Begins Distributing CWENCH Hydration to Metro Grocery Stores in Quebec

Investing 6 Mins Read

In January 2025, Cizzle Brands announced its initial placement in select Metro locations in Ontario. An expanded product range has now been added to more than half of all Metro stores in Quebec.

Cizzle Brands Corporation (Cboe Canada: CZZL) (OTCQB: CZZLF) (Frankfurt: 8YF) ( the ‘Company’ or ‘Cizzle Brands’) , is pleased to announce that METRO Inc., food and pharmacy leader in Québec and Ontario, has started carrying CWENCH Hydration in Metro stores in the province of Quebec, alongside Metro stores in Ontario that are already carrying CWENCH Hydration products.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250325984171/en/

Following the success in Metro Inc. stores in Ontario, CWENCH Hydration is now available at Metro Inc. stores across the Province of Quebec.

Cizzle Brands continues to strategically scale the brand footprint of CWENCH Hydration across Canada, and this placement fortifies the Company’s growth in the Quebec market. Recent developments in Quebec include commercial site distribution of CWENCH Hydration through Montreal-based Van Houtte Coffee Services (who services over 3,000 locations in the Montreal area alone) and full distribution across MacEwen-owned gas stations in both Ontario and Quebec.

In a press release dated January 9, 2025 , Cizzle Brands announced that 47 Metro supermarkets in Ontario were to begin carrying Hydration Mix packets of CWENCH Hydration in their pharmacy sections.

Based on early-stage performance of CWENCH Hydration in Metro’s Ontario stores, Cizzle Brands has worked with METRO Inc. to make the following additional placements of the product in the grocer’s Quebec locations:

  • CWENCH Hydration Ready-to-Drink (‘RTD’) Rainbow Swirl , Blue Raspberry , Cherry Lime , and Berry Crush flavours are now sold in approximately 130 Metro supermarkets in Quebec; and
  • Hydration Mix in the 10-Count packet format for CWENCH Hydration flavours Rainbow Swirl and Blue Raspberry are now sold in approximately 100 Metro supermarkets in Quebec.

As of December 21, 2024, METRO Inc. operates a network of some 995 food stores under several banners including Metro, Metro Plus, Super C, Food Basics, Adonis and Première Moisson , and 640 pharmacies primarily under the Jean Coutu, Brunet, Metro Pharmacy and Food Basics Pharmacy banners. More information about METRO can be found on its website: https://corpo.metro.ca/en/home.html

Cizzle Brands’ Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer John Celenza commented, ‘We are pleased that CWENCH Hydration has performed well in Metro supermarkets in Ontario, leading to an expansion into their locations in the Quebec market. Grocery is proving to be an important category for us, particularly because there are many more opportunities to drive awareness of new products ( e.g. , through floor displays, weekly flyers, etc.) which we can leverage to encourage first-time purchase conversions. Working with the METRO Inc. team has been a great pleasure for us, and we look forward to continuing this relationship as we seek to further establish CWENCH Hydration as a leading name in sports beverages.’

About Cizzle Brands Corporation

Cizzle Brands Corporation is a sports nutrition company that is elevating the game in health and wellness. Through extensive collaboration and testing with leading athletes and trainers across several elite sports, Cizzle Brands has launched two leading product lines in the sports nutrition category: (i) CWENCH Hydration, a better-for-you sports drink that is now carried in over 1,200 stores in Canada, the United States, and Europe; and (ii) Spoken Nutrition, a premium brand of athlete-grade nutraceuticals that carry the prestigious NSF Certified for Sport® qualification. All Cizzle Brands products are designed to help people achieve their best in both competitive sports and in living a healthy, vibrant, active lifestyle.

For more information about Cizzle Brands, please visit: https://www.cizzlebrands.com/

For more information about CWENCH Hydration, please visit: https://www.cwenchhydration.com

Notice Regarding Images and Links: This press release may contain images and/or links to outside web pages, which could play an important role in providing the full context of the news update being conveyed through this press release. Some news aggregation services may remove these images and/or links at their discretion. Therefore, readers are encouraged to access SEDAR+ or the News section of the Cizzle Brands Corporation website to view this press release containing all images and/or links as originally published.

On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Company,

Cizzle Brands Corporation

‘John Celenza’

John Celenza, Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

This news release contains ‘forward-looking information’ which may include, but is not limited to, information with respect to the activities, events or developments that the Company expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future, such as, but not limited to: new products of the Company and potential sales and distribution opportunities. Such forward-looking information is often, but not always, identified by the use of words and phrases such as ‘plans’, ‘expects’, ‘is expected’, ‘budget’, ‘scheduled’, ‘estimates’, ‘forecasts’, ‘intends’, ‘anticipates’, or ‘believes’ or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases, or state that certain actions, events or results ‘may’, ‘could’, ‘would’, ‘might’ or ‘will’ be taken, occur or be achieved. Various assumptions or factors are typically applied in drawing conclusions or making the forecasts or projections set out in forward-looking information. Those assumptions and factors are based on information currently available to the Company.

Forward looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other risk factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Such risks include risks related to increased competition and current global financial conditions, access and supply risks, reliance on key personnel, operational risks, regulatory risks, financing, capitalization and liquidity risks. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company undertakes no obligation, except as otherwise required by law, to update these forward-looking statements if management’s beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors change.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250325984171/en/

Setti Coscarella
Head of Corporate Development
investors@cizzlebrands.com
1-844-588-2088

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SAGA Metals Extends Claims at the Radar Project by 26% to Cover 20km Inferred Oxide Zone

Investing 8 Mins Read

Saga Metals Corp. (‘SAGA’ or the ‘Company’) (TSXV: SAGA) (OTCQB: SAGMF) (FSE: 20H) a North American exploration company focused on critical mineral discovery, announces the addition of 180 claims spanning 4,500-hectares, increasing the total size of the Radar Titanium-Vanadium (Ti-V) project from 17,250-hecatres to 21,750-hectares. This addition now encompasses the 20km inferred oxide zone starting from the 2025 Hawkeye drill program area heading west towards the new claim boundary.

Michael Garagan, CGO & Director of SAGA comments: ‘Important information garnered from the combined field & drill programs suggests the oxide layer zone at Hawkeye may be contiguous to Trapper and possibly as far as SAGA’s claim extension. These additional claims were strategic in an effort to ensure we’ve secured the full extent of mineralization. The team will look to apply magnetic geophysical continuity over the entire ‘inferred layering zone of the Dykes River’ intrusion. The recently completed drill program over the prospective Hawkeye zone is our proof of concept to a much larger system.’

Figure 1: Map of the Radar Ti-V project including recent claim staking and highlights the geophysical anomalies as well as the oxide layer trend

The Radar Ti-V Property is located 10km south of Cartwright in Labrador, Canada. The project now spans 21,750 hectares and benefits from road access and close proximity to a deep-water port supporting efficient exploration and development.

Figure 2: Regional geology of the southeastern Grenville Province and the Radar property

Radar Ti-V Project: Inferred Oxide Zone

SAGA’s in-house geological team had been tracking and defining the oxide layers on the surface based off historical analytical geophysics and two summers of exploration. The team was confident that a limb of the oxide zone extended from the Trapper zone to an unnamed anomaly in the northwest. With the completion of the successful maiden drill program, that showcased drill hole intercepts of the magnetite–oxide layering zone and its potential extent, the team identified the evidence it needed to track the trend into the northwestern section of the property and therefore claimed the final geophysical target in the area.

The inferred layering appears to be continuous from the Hawkeye zone, Trapper zone and the new extension of the property. Whether this is a lopolith feature as defined in the below intrusive model or a fold is yet to be confirmed. Nevertheless, this extensive magnetic anomaly infers the oxide layering trend extends ~20km along strike highlighting the significance of this extension. SAGA has made comparisons with other ‘textbook’ and modeled undeformed layered mafic intrusions such as the Kiglapait intrusion in Northern Labrador.

Figure 3: Model of the Kiglapait layered mafic intrusion. Model highlights the stratigraphy of an oxide-rich layering sequence.

A. KERR, J.A. WALSH, G.W. SPARKES AND J.G. HINCHEY. 2013

Q1 2025 Maiden Drill Program:

SAGA’s 2025 maiden drill program aimed to test the core of the magnetic anomaly identified through geophysics at the Hawkeye Zone. Initially planned for 1,500 meters, the program was confidently expanded to 2,200 meters after early drilling revealed strong intercepts through the primary layering sequences.

This program confirmed a large mineralized layered mafic intrusion with early indications suggesting it is moderately undeformed and contains its original primary magmatic textures from over 1 billion years ago. The Dykes River intrusion (Gower 2017), which hosts the entirety of the Radar Ti-V project, has been historically mapped over an area of 160km 2 , which is similar, but larger in size to Greenland’s Skargaard intrusion. This size underscores the immense untapped potential of the region for hosting critical metals, including vanadium and titanium, essential to the global green energy transition.

Key findings from drilling include:

  • 130–200 meters of intermittent magnetite layering across strike
  • Consistent correlation between geophysical anomalies and mineralized zones
  • Layered Fe-Ti-V mineralization   open at depth


Figure 4: Geophysical map of the Hawkeye zone showing drilled oxide layers and inferred oxide layering open in both directions along strike

SAGA’s exploration team is currently finishing the logging and cutting process with the first shipment of core already sent to the Activation laboratory in Ancaster, Ontario. Due to the quantity of samples, the core will be shipped in three phases. SAGA’s team has prioritized a sequence of drill holes with holes R25-HEZ-01 and R25-HEZ-04 being sent for assaying first. The Company anticipates its initial drill results within the next 4-6 weeks.

R25-HEZ-01 and R25-HEZ-04 were prioritized due to their location on the drill fence which placed them in a position to fully intercept the main oxide layering sequence as seen in the above map. Both of these holes logged magnetite layering sequences between 130-200m across strike.

About Saga Metals Corp.

Saga Metals Corp. is a North American mining company focused on the exploration and discovery of critical minerals that support the global transition to green energy. The company’s flagship asset, the Double Mer Uranium Project, is located in Labrador, Canada, covering 25,600 hectares. This project features uranium radiometrics that highlight an 18-kilometer east-west trend, with a confirmed 14-kilometer section producing samples as high as 4,281ppm U 3 O 8 and spectrometer readings of 22,000cps.

In addition to its uranium focus, SAGA owns the Legacy Lithium Property in Quebec’s Eeyou Istchee James Bay region. This project, developed in partnership with Rio Tinto, has been expanded through the acquisition of the Amirault Lithium Project. Together, these properties cover 65,849 hectares and share significant geological continuity with other major players in the area, including Rio Tinto, Winsome Resources, Azimut Exploration, and Loyal Lithium.

SAGA also holds secondary exploration assets in Labrador, where the company is focused on the discovery of titanium, vanadium, and iron ore. With a portfolio that spans key minerals crucial to the green energy transition, SAGA is strategically positioned to play an essential role in the clean energy future.

For more information, contact:
Saga Metals Corp.
Investor Relations
Tel: +1 (778) 930-1321
Email: info@sagametals.com
www.sagametals.com

The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the accuracy or adequacy of this release. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Qualified Person

Peter Webster P.Geo. CEO of Mercator Geological Services Limited is an Independent Qualified Person as defined under National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical information related to the Radar Ti-V Project disclosed in this news release.

Cautionary Disclaimer

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as ‘will’, ‘may’, ‘should’, ‘anticipates’, ‘expects’, ‘believes’, and similar expressions or the negative of these words or other comparable terminology. All statements other than statements of historical fact, included in this release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. In particular, this news release contains forward-looking information pertaining to the Company’s plans and objectives in respect of drill program. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company’s expectations include, but are not limited to, changes in the state of equity and debt markets, fluctuations in commodity prices, delays in obtaining required regulatory or governmental approvals, environmental risks, limitations on insurance coverage, risks and uncertainties involved in the mineral exploration and development industry, and the risks detailed in the Company’s final prospectus in Manitoba and amended and restated final prospectus for British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario dated August 30, 2024, filed under its SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca, and in the continuous disclosure filings made by the Company with securities regulations from time to time. The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking information may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and the Company will update or revise publicly any of the included forward-looking statements only as expressly required by applicable law.

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at:
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/0949bd0f-0238-445a-a9b2-9dd7681357ea

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2cfdb5c0-8a0e-41ce-8a9f-4407b2134649

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/850e3b0c-3dfb-4d2f-8a2c-e46753ac10f8

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/bd3acfc8-fe6d-40a1-b1a7-cee33fcc7f84

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This post appeared first on investingnews.com

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No signal, no problem: Intelligence firm debuts drone tech equipped to beat GPS jammers

Politics 3 Mins Read

A key geospatial intelligence firm on Tuesday announced a new product that can operate drones even in areas where the GPS signal has been jammed – cutting through modern defenses in the age of unmanned vehicular warfare. 

The war between Russia and Ukraine presented a unique problem: each military had learned how to jam the other’s GPS signals, meaning their drones would be flying blind. This prompted the latest innovation from Maxar Intelligence, a drone-guiding technology that does not rely on satellite signals from space. 

Now, Maxar, a global satellite imagery and geospatial intelligence provider, has the capability to counter GPS-jamming technology through its Raptor system. 

‘We’re giving the drones a 3D map, allowing them to use that 3D map of the world to compare it to the video feed and position themselves,’ Peter Wilczynski, chief product officer at Maxar, told Fox News Digital. 

The company’s new camera-based recognition software, Raptor, allows drones to navigate and identify ground coordinates in contested regions where Global Positioning System (GPS) signals have been cut or remote areas where they do not exist. 

Raptor can be installed to use a drone’s existing camera and Maxar’s 90 million-plus square kilometer of global 3D terrain data to helps the platform navigate terrain and extract ground coordinates. 

While other prototypes of terrain-based positioning preceded Raptor, Maxar believes it has the largest global collection of high-resolution terrain. ‘We’re able to get the accuracy down to the best you can without GPS,’ said Wilczynski. 

The software builds off a 3D representation of the terrain it glides over, able to provide an accurate picture at night and at altitudes of 120 meters. 

‘This is really the seminal thing that the Ukraine war did for battlefield technology,’ Wilczynski said.

Around the world nations have been developing their GPS signal-jamming technologies to fend off autonomous vehicle attacks. Much of Ukraine is GPS-denied, as are large swaths in Europe and the Middle East. Experts believe that one of the first things China would do if it were to invade Taiwan would be to cut off the GPS signal to isolate the island. 

Maxar’s data has been key for Ukraine in fending off Russia – when the U.S. cut off intelligence-sharing, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s forces lost access to Maxar’s tracking of the movement of Russian troops and ability to assess damage. 

‘From a military planning perspective, the assumption going forward is that in any conflict, GPS is not going to be a reliable positioning system anymore,’ Wilczynski said

In the western hemisphere, GPS jamming has been used by drug traffickers to evade detection and other organized criminal operations. 

America’s GPS, once considered cutting-edge, is now at risk of becoming outdated as Chinese, Russian and European systems modernize. 

The Pentagon, together with Space Force and Army, have in recent years been scrambling in search of alternatives for when GPS signal is unavailable on the battlefield. The issue has become acutely pressing as adversaries like China and Russia develop their anti-satellite capabilities. 

The threat is not contained to far-off conflict zones but also everyday life in the U.S.: financial systems, emergency services and air traffic could all face dire emergencies without access to their satellite systems. 

Maxar plans to employ its Raptor technology for both commercial and defense purposes as nations across the globe search for a cutting-edge alternative to GPS signal.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

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Can Congress defund federal courts with key Trump budget process?

Politics 4 Mins Read

As Republicans look for ways to rein in federal judges issuing countless orders to halt the Trump administration’s action on immigration in particular, a number of potential avenues for doing so are being considered. 

However, the use of a key budget process that lowers the Senate’s threshold to 51 votes to defund certain courts could face significant obstacles.

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, House Freedom Caucus policy chair and chair of the House Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee on the Constitution, told Fox News Digital he isn’t ‘for or against’ any specific approach to addressing the countrywide injunctions that are throwing a wrench into President Donald Trump’s priorities.

‘We ought to look at [impeachment], we ought to look at jurisdiction-stripping, we ought to look at every option that needs to be addressed about judges that are actively taking steps to try to undermine the presidency,’ he said.

The Republican added, ‘I think there are pros and cons of those approaches. I think we need to look at … funding scenarios. Now that takes a little time; you’ve got to work through either the appropriations, rescissions or reconciliation process, depending on where it’s appropriate.’

The budget reconciliation process lowers the threshold for Senate passage from 60 votes to 51 out of 100, allowing the party in power to more easily advance its agenda with no opposition party support. However, the provisions must relate to budgetary and other fiscal matters. The House of Representatives already has a simple majority threshold.

The process is being relied on heavily by Republicans, who have a trifecta in Washington, in order to push through Trump agenda items.

In the months since Trump took office, his aggressive pace has been somewhat hampered by federal judges across the country issuing numerous orders to halt immigration, waste-cutting and anti-diversity, equity and inclusion actions. 

This has prompted Republicans to call for action against what they consider abusive actions by lower-tier federal judges.  

‘I don’t think defunding is a viable option,’ said Andy McCarthy, a former assistant U.S. attorney and a Fox News contributor. 

‘The chief justice would be angry that the district courts were understaffed, and Trump wouldn’t get away with later trying to add the positions back so that he could fill them,’ he continued.

Former Deputy Assistant Attorney General John Yoo called potentially defunding the courts that have been causing problems for the administration ‘a terrible idea.’

‘It would make no difference anyway; the cases challenging Trump’s executive orders would still be challenged in the courts that exist,’ he explained. 

This was echoed by former Trump attorney Jim Trusty, who said, ‘I don’t think defunding an already overworked judicial system would be right or effective.’

Because of the specific guidelines for what can be included in reconciliation bills, legal experts seem to be in agreement that defunding courts wouldn’t meet the requirements. 

One such expert told Fox News Digital that not only does the provision need to have a federal fiscal impact, the policy effect cannot outweigh that impact. 

They further noted that the Senate’s parliamentarian would be the one to make a judgment on this. 

Trusty said ‘the solution to judicial activism’ is either the appellate courts finding ways to stop the injunctions on appeal or by direct orders, or ‘Congress develops a nimble response and passes legislation to clarify their intent to let the executive branch act without judicial tethers on various issues.’

‘The better option would be to explore ways to limit the jurisdiction of the lower courts or to fast-track appeals when they try to issue nationwide injunctions,’ McCarthy said.

As for potentially impeaching federal judges, which has been floated by Trump himself, Trusty said it ‘should still be viewed as a prosecution substitute for office holders who have committed treason or high crimes and misdemeanors; in other words, serious crimes.’

‘Bad judgment and wrong-headed decisions are not crimes,’ he noted. 

Neither Trump’s White House nor Republican leadership in Congress have indicated plans to pursue the issue through the reconciliation process.

Lawmakers have acknowledged the problem, though, and the House is set to take up legislation to address the judges’ actions next week.

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Trump not planning to fire Waltz after national security text chain leak

Politics 4 Mins Read

President Donald Trump is not planning to fire national security advisor Mike Waltz in the wake of The Atlantic’s reporting of an apparent national security breach, Fox News has learned.

A source close to the president told Fox News that Waltz’s job is safe and that he is not on the chopping block. 

Fox News is told Waltz has no plans to resign and is sticking to his schedule Tuesday. He will be talking to his Russian counterpart about a Black Sea ceasefire deal and has plans to speak to Trump as usual later Tuesday.

Waltz is also telling colleagues that he has never met or talked to the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg, Fox News has learned.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt released a new statement on Tuesday. The National Security Council earlier said The Atlantic’s report referenced what appeared to be an ‘authentic message chain.’ 

‘Jeffrey Goldberg is well-known for his sensationalist spin,’ Leavitt wrote, before offering three ‘facts about his latest story.’ Leavitt said no ‘war plans’ were discussed, no classified material was sent to the thread and that the White House Counsel’s Office has provided guidance on a number of different platforms for the president’s top officials to communicate ‘as safely and efficiently as possible.’ 

‘As the National Security Council stated, the White House is looking into how Goldberg’s number was inadvertently added to the thread,’ Leavitt said. ‘Thanks to the strong and decisive leadership of President Trump, and everyone in the group, the Houthi strikes were successful and effective. Terrorists were killed and that’s what matters most to President Trump.’ 

A senior White House official revealed to Fox News how Goldberg may have been added to the Signal text chain with Cabinet members.

The official said that he had never met and had never spoken to Goldberg. Somehow, Goldberg’s number was added to one of the members of the list, the senior official said, noting that Signal is allowed in multiple agencies. 

It appears that Goldberg’s number was added to a contact card by one of the Trump administration staffers, Fox News has learned. The chat had Cabinet officials plus some of those officials’ staffers.

Democrats on the House Armed Services Committee are calling for Waltz’s ouster over the breach. 

‘This is an outrageous national security breach and heads should roll. We need a full investigation and hearing into this on the House Armed Services Committee, ASAP,’ Rep. Chris Deluzio, D-Pa., wrote on X. 

‘We can’t chalk this up to a simple mistake — people should be fired for this,’ Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-Calif., told Axios. 

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth blasted The Atlantic article, telling reporters on Monday that ‘nobody was texting war plans.’

Hegseth billed Goldberg as a ‘deceitful and highly discredited journalist who’s made a profession of peddling hoaxes time and time again.’ 

Goldberg appeared on MSNBC on Tuesday morning to discuss the contents of the text chain. The reporter said Vice President JD Vance ‘asserted his disagreement’ with Trump in front of other Cabinet members believed to be on the text chain and ‘articulated a view that the president didn’t understand the consequences or stakes.’ 

‘I think it’s notable that the vice president of the United States is telling members of the Cabinet that I don’t think the president understands,’ Goldberg said. ‘I just think it’s noteworthy, just my journalistic perspective, that the vice president is, is being so, so blunt about that. But it’s a very it’s a substantive policy disagreement on some levels.’ 

A person on the chat labeled ‘SM,’ believed to be Trump’s deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, pushed back in the chat and the conversation seemed to defer to the president’s ultimate judgment. 

Goldberg further categorized the chat as ‘obviously very focused on getting Europe to pay for the strikes on the Houthis and a lot of resentment directed at Europe for not having the capacity to defend shipping lanes that are affected by the Houthis.’

Goldberg made the point to MSNBC that lower levels of the armed forces must adhere to cybersecurity and social media rules. 

‘And you can go to jail,’ Goldberg said. ‘You can go to Leavenworth for mishandling what we would consider to be minor classified information.’ 

He also defended The Atlantic, as administration officials have categorized it as a failing publication. 

‘We’re a profitable magazine. We have more than 1.2 million paid subscribers. We have tremendous web traffic. And we are completely self-funded at this point. It’s going really great,’ Goldberg said. 

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

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Dem senator calls for Waltz, Hegseth to resign as Gabbard says no classified material shared in Signal

Politics 3 Mins Read

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., called for national security advisor Mike Waltz and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to resign Tuesday following an apparent national security breach. 

The demand came after Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard vowed during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing that there was ‘no classified material’ shared in a Signal text chat that an editor from The Atlantic said he had access to. The U.S. operation against the Houthis in Yemen was reportedly discussed in the chat between senior Cabinet officials. 

‘Obviously, my colleagues and I feel very strongly about the war planning meeting over unclassified phones. Obviously reckless, obviously dangerous, both the mishandling of classified information and the deliberate destruction of federal records or potential crimes that ought to be investigated immediately,’ Wyden said. ‘And I want to make clear that I’m of the view that there ought to be resignation starting with the National Security Advisor and the Secretary of Defense.’

Earlier, Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., grilled Gabbard over the nature of the texts.

‘Director Gabbard, did you participate in the group chat with Secretary of Defense and other Trump senior officials discussing the Yemen war plans?’ the committee vice chairman asked her.

‘I don’t want to get into the specifics,’ she responded, noting that the matter is ‘currently under review by the National Security Council.’

‘There was no classified material that was shared in that,’ Gabbard also said.

‘So then if there [was] no classified material, share it with the committee,’ Warner shot back. ‘You can’t have it both ways. These are important jobs. This is our national security. Bobbing and weaving and trying to, you know, filibuster your answer. So please answer the question. Director Gabbard, if this was a rank-and-file intelligence officer who did this kind of careless behavior, what would you do with them?’

‘Senator, I’ll reiterate that there was no classified material that was shared in that,’ she said.

Earlier, Warner said ‘If this was the case of a military officer, or an intelligence officer, and they had this kind of behavior, they would be fired.’

CIA Director John Ratcliffe and FBI Director Kash Patel appeared alongside Gabbard on Tuesday.

Ratcliffe confirmed he was the person bearing his name in the group chat.

‘To be clear, the use of Signal message, and end to end encryption applications is permissible and was in this case, used permissibly, at least to my understanding, and in [a] lawful manner,’ he told Wyden.

Patel, when asked by Warner if the FBI has launched an investigation into the chat, said he was briefed on the matter ‘late last night’ and ‘this morning, I don’t have an update.’ 

Fox News’ Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

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Politics

Senate committee to vote on Dr. Oz’s nomination to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

Politics 2 Mins Read

The Senate Committee on Finance is set to vote later Tuesday afternoon on whether to advance President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Dr. Mehmet Oz, to a full Senate confirmation vote. 

The vote follows two hearings by the committee that probed Oz over his plans for the federal healthcare programs, his views on abortion, potential conflicts of interest in the healthcare industry and more.   

If confirmed, Oz would be in charge of nearly $1.5 trillion in federal healthcare spending. Medicare, a federal healthcare program for seniors aged 65 and up, currently provides coverage for about 65 million Americans, according to the Center for Medicare Advocacy. Medicaid, which assists people with low incomes, covers roughly 72 million Americans, according to Medicaid.gov.

A former heart surgeon who saw his fame rise through his appearances on daytime TV and 13 seasons of ‘The Dr Oz Show,’ Oz later transitioned into politics, launching an unsuccessful bid for Pennsylvania’s open Senate seat in 2022. He ultimately lost to John Fetterman, then the state’s lieutenant governor. 

Oz graduated from Harvard and received medical and business degrees from the University of Pennsylvania.

As the administrator of CMS, Oz would make decisions related to how the government covers procedures, hospital stays and medication within the federal healthcare programs, as well as the reimbursement rates at which healthcare providers get paid for their services.

Earlier this month, Trump’s pick to lead the NIH and FDA, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya and Dr. Marty Makary, respectively, were also approved in committee and are awaiting full confirmation votes in the Senate. 

Around the same time that Bhattacharya and Makary won committee approval, Trump withdrew his nomination of former Florida Rep. David Weldon to run the CDC, over fears he did not have the GOP support to clear full confirmation. 

On Monday, the Trump administration named Susan Monarez, acting director of the CDC, as its new nominee.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

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Business

Bitcoin is just another tech stock, not a market hedge, study shows

Business 3 Mins Read

Bitcoin is more closely correlated to the Nasdaq than it is to gold most of the time, and investors could benefit from viewing it as another big tech stock, says Standard Chartered.

Bitcoin’s correlation with the Nasdaq is currently at about 0.5, after it approached 0.8 earlier this year, according to the bank. Meanwhile, its correlation with gold has been falling since January, touching zero at one point, and is now just above 0.2.

“Bitcoin trading is highly correlated to the Nasdaq over short time horizons,” Geoff Kendrick, Standard Chartered’s global head of digital assets research, said in a note Monday. “This Nasdaq correlation leads to the idea that bitcoin could be included in a basket of large tech stocks; if it were included, the implication would be more institutional buying as BTC would serve multiple purposes in investor portfolios.”

Bitcoin is frequently viewed as “digital gold” and a hedge against risks facing the traditional financial sector. Kendrick said he still sees the flagship cryptocurrency serving that purpose but that “in reality … the need for such hedges is very infrequent.”

Standard Chartered created a hypothetical index dubbed “Mag 7B,” in which it added bitcoin to the Magnificent 7 tech stocks — Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla — and removed Tesla.

“Mag 7B has outperformed Mag 7 by about 5% over the period since December 2017,” he said. “On a calendar year basis, Mag 7B outperformed Mag 7 in five out of seven years, albeit by a very small margin in 2022. Mag 7B’s relative returns are decent on both an absolute basis (averaging around 1% a year above Mag 7) and a calendar-year basis.”

Kendrick said bitcoin has been trading in a similar volatility-adjusted fashion to Nvidia since President Trump’s inauguration. They’re down 16% and 12%, respectively, since Jan. 20. Meanwhile, Tesla, which has lost 36% in the same period, is trading more like ether (down 38% since Jan. 20).

“Investors can view bitcoin as both a hedge against [traditional finance] and as part of their tech allocation,” Kendrick said. “Indeed, as BTC’s role in global investor portfolios becomes established, we think that having more than one use will bring fresh capital inflows to the asset. This is particularly true as bitcoin investment becomes more institutionalized.”

Bitcoin is down about 5% for the year after Trump’s tariff threats in recent weeks have brought new volatility to the market. Investors are expecting relief in the second quarter, however, given bitcoin’s two of its most persistent correlations: its positive correlation with money supply growth, also known as M2, and its negative correlation with the U.S. dollar index, or DXY.

—CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed reporting.

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS

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Stock

Uncover the Week’s Key Stock Market Movements

Stock 3 Mins Read

If one word could characterize this week’s stock market price action, it would be “sideways.” At least it’s better than trending lower.

The stock market seemed comfortable with the Federal Reserve’s message on Wednesday, but lost that upside momentum and wasn’t able to follow through on the upside move until the last 30 minutes of Friday’s trading.

The Dow ($INDU), S&P 500 ($SPX), and Nasdaq Composite ($COMPQ) managed to eke out gains, ending the week on a slightly optimistic note.

On the bright side, the Cboe Volatility Index ($VIX) pulled back from its March 10 level. Even quadruple witching Friday—when contracts for stock index futures, stock index options, stock options, and single-stock futures all expire—didn’t see volatility spike too high. That said, the VIX is still elevated, relatively speaking, so we’re not exactly in complacent territory.

Quarterly earnings reports from Nike, Inc. (NKE), FedEx Corp. (FDX), and Micron Technology, Inc. (MU) didn’t help. The most troubling of the three is FDX. FedEx’s performance indicates the overall health of the U.S. economy. Tariffs, declining consumer confidence, and uncertainty about economic growth could be headwinds, for FedEx and other companies.

The weekly chart of FDX below shows the stock is trading below its 150-week exponential moving average (EMA) with its 40-week EMA trending lower. FDX has been underperforming the Industrials Select Sector SPDR (XLI) since early September 2024.

FIGURE 1. WEEKLY CHART OF FEDEX STOCK. FDX is trading below its 150-week EMA and underperforming the Industrial sector. Chart source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.

Be sure to save this chart to your ChartLists. It acts like a monitor to check the U.S. economy’s pulse.

Precious Metals Shine

But it’s not all negative. Gold and silver prices have trended higher with gold hitting an all-time high this week. The daily six-month chart of gold futures ($GOLD) below shows that gold prices are trading above $3,000 per ounce.

FIGURE 2. DAILY CHART OF GOLD FUTURES. Gold prices have rallied most of the year and could keep rising if investors invest in safe-haven assets such as gold. Chart source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.

In addition to trading above its 50- and 200-day SMAs, gold is outperforming the S&P 500. A rise in gold prices indicates risk-off sentiment, and, if investors continue to sell off stocks, gold prices could rise further. This is another valuable chart to monitor when uncertainty reigns.

Next week is heavy on macro data, so this back-and-forth movement could continue. Fasten your seatbelts.

End-of-Week Wrap-Up

  • S&P 500 up 0.51% on the week, at 5667.56, Dow Jones Industrial Average up 1.2% on the week at 41,985.35; Nasdaq Composite up 0.17% on the week at 17,784.05.
  • $VIX down 11.39% on the week, closing at 19.28.
  • Best performing sector for the week: Energy
  • Worst performing sector for the week: Utilities
  • Top 5 Large Cap SCTR stocks: Elbit Systems, Ltd. (ESLT); XPeng, Inc. (XPEV); Palantir Technologies, Inc. (PLTR); Applovin Corp. (APP); Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (RKLB)

On the Radar Next Week

  • March S&P Global PMI
  • February PCE
  • Q4 GDP Growth Rate (final)
  • Fed speeches from Bostic, Barr, Kugler, and others

Disclaimer: This blog is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice. The ideas and strategies should never be used without first assessing your own personal and financial situation, or without consulting a financial professional.

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