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Social Security watchdog investigating claims that DOGE engineer copied its databases

The inspector general’s office of the Social Security Administration is investigating allegations of a security breach by a member of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency operation spearheaded by Elon Musk. A whistleblower has claimed that a former software engineer from DOGE said he possessed two databases from the SSA, “Numident” and the “Master Death File.” The person reportedly asked for help transferring the databases from a thumb drive “to his personal computer so that he could ‘sanitize’ the data before using it at [the company],” an unnamed government contractor where he is currently employed. Those databases include personal information about more than 500 million living and deceased Americans.

The Washington Post reported that the whistleblower complaint was filed with the inspector general in January. “When The Post contacted the agency and the company in January, both said they had not heard of the complaint. Both said they subsequently looked into the allegations and did not find evidence to confirm the claims,” the publication said. It is unclear why the complaint is now being investigated and neither party offered comment this week for The Post‘s article. The SSA watchdog informed both members of Congress and the Government Accountability Office of its investigation.

These allegations follow a different whistleblower complaint filed last August about DOGE access and mishandling of data from the SSA. Charles Borges, former chief data officer at the agency, claimed that a SSA database was stored in an unsecured cloud environment. “This is absolutely the worst-case scenario,” Borges told The Post of the latest claims. “There could be one or a million copies of it, and we will never know now.”

March 11, 2026
Markets tread water as investors brace for inflation data

The entire financial market spent Tuesday doing its best impression of a doctor’s waiting room. Everyone sat still, no one made eye contact, and the only real activity was nervous fidgeting over what comes next.

US equities barely registered a pulse. The S&P 500 dipped 0.2%, oil prices couldn’t decide whether to surge or collapse, and crypto — somewhat surprisingly — caught a mild bid. Bitcoin edged past $70K, Ethereum held above $2K, and the broader digital asset market drifted higher even as traditional finance stayed frozen in place.

What the numbers actually say

Here’s the scorecard. Bitcoin gained 1.4% over 24 hours and 2.6% on the week, trading just above the $70K level that has become its psychological floor. Ethereum added a modest 1.0% on the day, holding comfortably above $2K. Solana ticked up 0.6%, trading near $86, and $XRP sat around $1.39.

Those are not the kind of moves that make anyone rich overnight. But in context, they’re noteworthy.

The crypto Fear and Greed Index, which measures market sentiment on a scale of 0 to 100, currently reads 15. That’s “Extreme Fear” — the kind of reading you typically see after a major crash or during prolonged uncertainty. Last week it was even lower, at 10.

To put that in perspective, the index hit similar levels during the FTX collapse in November 2022 and the Terra/Luna implosion earlier that year. The fact that Bitcoin is trading near $70K while sentiment sits at crash-era lows is a disconnect worth paying attention to.

In one oddly specific corner of the market, the top-performing crypto category over seven days was US Treasury-backed stablecoins, which surged 39.1%. In English: investors are parking money in the digital equivalent of government bonds. That’s not exactly a vote of confidence in risk-taking.

Why everyone is staring at the CPI report

The Consumer Price Index report is one of the most closely watched economic releases in the US. It measures how fast prices are rising for everyday goods and services — food, rent, gas, the stuff people actually buy.

Why does it matter so much right now? Because the Federal Reserve uses inflation data to decide whether to cut, hold, or raise interest rates. And interest rate expectations drive virtually everything in both traditional and crypto markets.

If CPI comes in hotter than expected, it signals inflation is stickier than hoped. That makes rate cuts less likely, which tends to hurt risk assets like stocks and crypto. The logic is straightforward: higher rates mean money is more expensive to borrow, which means less capital flowing into speculative investments.

If CPI comes in cooler, the calculus flips. Lower inflation gives the Fed room to cut rates, which historically acts like rocket fuel for asset prices across the board. Bitcoin’s biggest rallies have often coincided with periods of monetary easing or the expectation of it.

The market’s paralysis on Tuesday was essentially a collective refusal to place bets before seeing the data. Traders have been burned enough times by surprise inflation prints that they’d rather sit on their hands than guess wrong.

Adding to the tension, geopolitical uncertainty continues to simmer. Oil prices have been swinging between record highs and sharp pullbacks, a pattern that typically injects volatility into inflation expectations. Higher oil means higher transportation and production costs, which can push CPI readings higher even if underlying demand is softening.

What this means for crypto investors

Here’s the thing about crypto trading at these levels during extreme fear: it creates an asymmetric setup. The sentiment is priced for disaster, but the actual price action hasn’t followed suit.

Bitcoin holding above $70K while the Fear and Greed Index reads 15 suggests that the sellers who wanted out have mostly already left. The remaining holders are either long-term believers or institutions with mandates that don’t change based on weekly vibes. That kind of base can be surprisingly resilient.

The risk, of course, is that a hot CPI print triggers a genuine selloff. If the report shows inflation reaccelerating, the market’s rate-cut hopes could evaporate quickly. Bitcoin has historically dropped 5-10% on hawkish surprises from the Fed or unexpectedly high inflation data. From $70K, that would mean a potential test of the $63K-$66K range.

On the flip side, a cool print could be the catalyst that breaks the fear cycle. When sentiment is this depressed, even mildly positive news can trigger outsized moves higher. Markets that are positioned for the worst tend to rip when the worst doesn’t materialize.

The Treasury-backed stablecoin trend is also worth monitoring as a leading indicator. When investors rotate heavily into yield-bearing stablecoins, it often signals they’re waiting on the sidelines with dry powder. That capital doesn’t disappear — it tends to redeploy when conditions shift. Think of it as a coiled spring rather than a permanent exit.

Ethereum’s relative stability above $2K is another data point that matters for the broader ecosystem. ETH often acts as a bellwether for altcoin sentiment. If it holds this level through the CPI release, it could provide a floor for the rest of the market. If it breaks below, expect the pain to cascade through DeFi protocols and Layer 2 tokens.

The competitive dynamic between chains also plays into this. Solana near $86 represents a significant discount from its highs, and its ecosystem activity has remained robust even as price action stagnated. $XRP at $1.39 continues to reflect the market’s ongoing recalibration of Ripple’s position following its partial legal victories.

For investors trying to navigate this environment, the key question isn’t whether inflation will be high or low. It’s whether the market has already priced in the worst-case scenario. With a Fear and Greed reading of 15, the argument that bad news is largely baked in carries some weight — but it’s never a guarantee.

Bottom line: The market is in a holding pattern, and the CPI report will likely break the stalemate one way or another. Crypto’s quiet climb during peak uncertainty and rock-bottom sentiment is either a sign of underlying strength or the calm before a storm. The data drops soon. Until then, everyone waits.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Estefano Gomez. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.

March 11, 2026
Bitcoin climbs to $71K as crude tumbles on possible global oil reserve release

Bitcoin climbed nearly 5% on Tuesday, rising above $71K as risk assets rebounded amid signs that geopolitical tensions in the Middle East may be easing.

The rally followed a sharp reversal in oil markets. Crude prices dropped more than 11% Tuesday, falling to around $83 after surging close to $120 a barrel on Monday following supply disruptions linked to the Iran conflict.

The decline came after reports that the International Energy Agency will hold an emergency meeting of member countries Tuesday to discuss a potential coordinated release of strategic oil reserves to stabilize markets.

The rally followed a sharp reversal in oil markets. Crude prices dropped more than 11% Tuesday, falling to around $83 after surging close to $120 a barrel on Monday following supply disruptions linked to the Iran conflict.

The decline came after reports that the International Energy Agency will hold an emergency meeting of member countries Tuesday to discuss a potential coordinated release of strategic oil reserves to stabilize markets.

As energy prices pulled back, investors rotated back into risk assets. Crypto markets moved higher across the board, with Bitcoin trading near $71.5K, while Ethereum rose to about $2,080 and Solana climbed to roughly $88, both gaining around 4%. XRP outperformed with a roughly 5% rise to about $1.43.

Equities also advanced during the session. The S&P 500 gained about 0.4% while the Nasdaq Composite rose roughly 0.5%.

Crypto related stocks joined the rally. Circle climbed about 7%, while Figure surged around 15%. Japan based Bitcoin treasury firm Metaplanet gained roughly 8%, and crypto mining company Bitfarms rose about 7%.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Estefano Gomez. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.

March 11, 2026
Writer Guild’s Top Negotiators Are Willing to Play Hardball This Time, Too

The Writers Guild of America may be facing a contracting business, a staff strike on its doorstep and a funding crisis for its health plan, but on Tuesday, union leaders made clear they are uncowed heading into this year’s contract negotiations with Hollywood’s top companies.

“Whatever cycle we’re in, writers, we know our value, we know the contributions we make to the industry, and we are not, as I think you know, a union that gives away our power,” union president Michele Mulroney told The Hollywood Reporter.

Mulroney sat for an interview alongside chief negotiator Ellen Stutzman and co-chairs of the WGA negotiating committee, John August and Danielle Sanchez-Witzel. The group spoke ahead of negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers that are set to begin Monday, not long before the contract’s May 1 expiration date.

This year, negotiators are laser-focused on shoring up the union’s health plan, which is in the red and facing a complete depletion of reserves if conditions don’t change soon. Mulroney made clear that securing this benefit is the union’s number one priority and that the labor group will ask for “significant amounts of money” from their employers to make that a reality.

But negotiators for Hollywood’s most aggressive union are also planning on convincing studios to pay up in a number of other ways: by remunerating writers for licensing their work to AI companies, by expanding the union’s success streaming bonus, by extending “second step” screenplay payments to more writers and by amplifying residuals.

Whether the likes of Netflix and Apple TV+, collectively represented by new AMPTP president Gregory Hessinger, will play ball is another matter. But as Stutzman made clear during the interview, she’s not interested in hearing studio execs plead poverty.

“Writers look and say, well, Netflix was just willing to pay $72 billion to buy Warner Brothers, and now it’s $2.8 billion richer just for failing to do that. And Paramount is spending $81 billion. So we’re not interested in hearing there’s no money.”

Read the full interview below.

Does the fact that you struck in 2023 change the strategy or approach for you this time?

DANIELLE SANCHEZ-WITZEL Our hope is that the lesson learned from 2023 is that the companies come to the table to bargain a fair deal from the beginning. That’s our hope. It took 148 days for them to realize that they could negotiate a fair deal that addressed the very real needs and concerns of the writers who make this industry possible. I’ll just start with that.

JOHN AUGUST I’ll add on that a fair deal looks like one that recognizes that writers need to make a career writing film and television and make sure that career is sustainable. And so the priorities in this negotiation are really about the sustainability of this career, both for the individual writers and for the industry who needs these writers to create the film and television that funds this industry.

MICHELE MULRONEY Whatever cycle we’re in, writers, we know our value, we know the contributions we make to the industry, and we are not, as I think you know, a union that gives away our power.

To address the elephant in the room, is a strike a possibility again this year?

MULRONEY Well, I mean, we have to keep all options on the table. And as John said, our members are laser-focused on what we need in this cycle. We have very specific needs, as I think you’re aware because we’ve been very open about it, for our health and pension plans that writers have fought very hard over decades to secure.

ELLEN STUTZMAN In every negotiation writers come in seeking a fair deal, and it really is about what the companies do. In 2023, none of the people on this call or in that negotiating committee wanted to strike, but the companies left us with no option because they wouldn’t negotiate. And as Danielle said, it took them 148 days to figure out, oops, they could, and did. And that’s why we are really hoping that they’ve retained that lesson when it comes to 2026.

Since we’re on the subject, Ellen, we have new leadership at the AMPTP with Gregory Hessinger. After having met with him, do you think the tone of negotiations will be any different?

STUTZMAN Remains to be seen. I would say they always bargain hard on that side, and I don’t think we expect anything different, but we really do hope that if they want stability, the best way to get stability is by negotiating a fair deal with writers before [the contract’s] expiration.

What would you characterize as your most important or key issues in this round?

MULRONEY As I said earlier, that does come back to the fundamentals of our health and pension plan and making sure that they’re shored up and they’re strong and that they are there for writers. We rely on them heavily. You know that we made improvements to the health fund in both 2017 and 2023, but then the companies obviously made the choice to produce less scripted entertainment in the last bunch of years, going back to 2022 when we saw the beginning of a contraction. And of course that’s put a lot of stress on our fund because fewer writers working means decreased contributions coming into the plan. So writers are, of course, severely aware of the contraction itself, and they’re very clear-eyed on what that has done to stress out our health plan. So we will be coming in asking the companies to increase their contributions in significant ways.

The union has said that at its current rate, the plan will run out of reserves during the next contract term. How does the severity of the state of the health plan impact your leverage on other issues?

MULRONEY Well, again, we’re going to need significant contributions to the health plan, so that will be factored in. But we have, I think, a very tailored and very specific and very strategic set of proposals that we’re putting forward that addresses the core issue. John talked about the sustainability of career as a writer. And so those we’ll need to get attention to. But of course, yes, the health plan is going to be a very, very key headline for us, and we’re making no secret about that.

What do you want to change or expand regarding your AI protections?

AUGUST In 2023, we were the first union in the world to fight for and ultimately win these fundamental protections when it comes to AI and how it impacts our work. And the good news is those specific protections we won have held up. And the studios are not trying to replace us with AI. They’re not adjusting our scripts to generate materials to replace us. Where we have seen changes and more recent changes is with companies like Disney with their deal with Sora, licensing material they own to AI companies to generate AI outputs, and that’s an area of concern. Clearly, the companies own the copyrights on this material, but if they’re taking our scripts to make a movie or a show, and then they’re turning around and are using it to feed an AI model and they’re licensing it to an AI model, that goes back to the principles of the MBA. Which is that when our employers are monetizing our shows and our movies to create things derived from our work, the writers get a share of that.

One of the goals in this negotiation is to stake a claim that if our employers are using material that Guild members wrote to enable AI-generated outputs, they must compensate us. And that’s why we’re laying down this as a foundation that there has to be some payment for training and AI outputs based on our work. This is consistent with what we’ve always done in terms of reuse of our material. And so while it’s a new technology, it’s not a new concept.

One of your main objectives this year is improving the terms of television employment. What specifically are you looking to change or improve in that area?

SANCHEZ-WITZEL We have to continue to build on the gains we made in 2023 in all areas. So free work is a major problem, both in features and TV. Development doesn’t have a calendar anymore in television so we need to protect writers working on pilots from being held exclusive and unable to find other work for long periods while the companies take their time making decisions. And then another major gain that we got in 2023 was ensuring writers rooms would continue to exist and that writers would be involved in the making of a show from the beginning to the end. So we set minimum staff sizes as a floor and the overwhelming majority of shows continue to staff above the minimum; the floor did not become the ceiling. So we’ll continue to improve on those provisions and we’ll look at targeted changes in development rooms and rooms with larger episode orders and in production where our current requirements actually exclude too many shows.

AUGUST On the feature side of this, in 2023 we started addressing free work issues with a guaranteed second step for screenplays. Everyone knows that a screenplay isn’t done in one draft and before 2023, that meant too many writers were simply doing an unpaid rewrite. So the guaranteed second step was an important step to cover some writers. We need to expand this provision to make sure it addresses more writers. We also have to expand our thinking about free work because so often the free work is coming at the request of a producer, and that’s why we want to make sure that if our producers are asking writers to do another draft, that draft is paid for. So it’s designating producers as agents of the company.

You mentioned unfinished business from 2023, with AI being one of those things. Is there anything else that you’re looking to pick up on in this round?

STUTZMAN I would just add, in the area of residuals, we want to continue to build on residuals for all streaming programs as the services continue to grow, domestically and in foreign markets. And the companies continue to increase prices or add advertising and just find more ways to make money off of writers’ material. What writers receive and residual compensation has to keep up with that growth. And similarly with the streaming bonus, which was a great outcome of 2023, to get the companies to say, “We are going to institute some measure of success for these programs and writers can participate in that success.” Which is fundamental to how writers have always participated in the success of their work through residuals as things go to subsequent markets. That was a great thing that the companies absolutely did not want to do. And now we’ve had a few years with it and it’s time to say it should be more money and it should apply to more projects.

You may be starting negotiations as the WGA staff is still on strike. How does the executive staff of the union plan on balancing dealmaking with its own staff and dealmaking with the studios and streamers?

STUTZMAN Well, we can walk and chew gum. We can do two things at one time. First contracts can be challenging and we bargained a fair contract and we’ve done so in good faith. And I think we’ve made an offer that we’ve showed our membership that backs what we say. But regardless of that, we’ve reached out to the WGSU to see if there’s a path forward before we go into the MBA and we’ll see what that does. But we’re really focused, as this group is and the negotiating committee has been for months, on doing the most important thing we do for our members, which is negotiate the MBA.

No negotiating dates on the schedule yet ahead of the MBA negotiations?

STUTZMAN I think we’re going to meet tomorrow.

The WGA has argued that entertainment profits have returned and companies would be disingenuous to cry poverty at this stage. But the streaming business may never be as consistently profitable as the peak of Pay TV was. How do you plan to transition this contract into this brave new world while also dealing with the realities of the streaming landscape?

STUTZMAN But still very profitable, let’s not forget this. It’s almost $25 billion in profits. What, Netflix makes like $10 billion? I’m sorry, the streaming business can be very profitable. I’ve never been in a negotiation where the companies haven’t said, “Oh, something’s not doing great. We can’t afford this. ” And that’s including during the era you’re referring to. So at the end of the day, they can afford to make a fair deal with writers. And look, they have really figured out the streaming business. They have grown subscribers, they have raised prices, they have added advertising, they’re bundling, they’re doing all the things that made cable television so profitable. So I struggle to accept that they would consider this not a good business just because it’s not quite as profitable as it used to be. And writers look and say, “Well, Netflix was just willing to pay $72 billion to buy Warner Brothers, and now it’s $2.8 billion richer just for failing to do that. And Paramount is spending $81 billion. So we’re not interested in hearing there’s no money.

SANCHEZ-WITZEL This is why we’re focused on an agenda for this negotiation that protects the career writers in this industry, because it’s ultimately to the benefit of the companies who rely on us to create the films and series that bring them those billions of dollars.

We’re coming off of a three-year period where so many writers have been hurting from the contraction and the downward pressure on costs. What would be the ideal scenario at the end of these negotiations to improve the situation for writers?

MULRONEY We’ve said this forever, because it’s just the truth, that although we cannot as a union control the number of shows or movies that studios choose to make, or what’s in and out of vogue, the creative mandate’s always shifting. There’s so much we can’t control, but what we do want to make sure that we’re consistent on, it will be an eternal theme for us, is that when a writer is working, they’re compensated fairly, their working conditions are fair, the value of their work is reflected in all aspects of their contract. That’s what this union has done since its inception. It’s what we’ll continue to do in the MBA. It’s an opportunity every three years to really put a fine point on that and zero in on areas where we need to shore things up and make sure that we come out of this with a writer believing work is tough right now, the environment is very, very tough, but when I am working, I know I’m working with the best possible protections around me.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

March 11, 2026
Kevin Spacey Testifies About Imploded ‘House of Cards’ Final Season

Shifting loyalties. A mishmash of half-truths in pursuit of a nine-figure insurance payout. Complaints from crewmembers against the trio at the top of House of Cards‘ call sheet.

In a dusty annex at a Santa Monica courthouse on Tuesday, Kevin Spacey detailed the behind-the-scenes maneuvering of people in his orbit to recover money from the imploded final season of the Netflix show. He testified that he was ready and willing to film the sixth season of House of Cards but that he was unfairly ousted on false grounds so the show’s producers could submit a massive insurance claim. The actor was articulate and quick-witted, unrepentant and resolute — challenging the allegations of sexual impropriety and sexual compulsion diagnosis that upended his career nearly a decade ago.

Spacey’s testimony headlines a long-running case pitting Media Rights Capital, the production company behind House of Cards, against its insurer. In an unusual arrangement, he struck a deal with MRC to reduce its $31 million arbitration award against him in exchange for turning over his medical records. They’re an essential piece of the company’s case to convince the jury that Spacey had a legitimate illness that prevented him from filming.

Still, bad blood appears to have lingered between the two sides. Spacey was unwilling to conform with MRC’s telling of events despite their deal.

At every turn, Spacey disputed findings in his medical records from his time at The Meadows, a luxe Arizona rehab facility he checked into after he was accused of sexual harassment, showing that he had a condition requiring treatment.

“Throughout the medical records, there are comments attributed to me that I never said,” Spacey testified. “They’re under the impression I have a British accent and have a wife.”

Spacey’s posture on his condition was contested by testimony from Michael Genovese, a psychiatrist and expert witness for MRC who said that Spacey contemplated suicide. “One [idea] was to hang himself the night before he went into The Meadows,” Genovese recounted. Another was to step in front of a vehicle during his stay at the rehab facility, he added.

Spacey was “unable to fulfill his duties on the set of House of Cards in 2017 as a result of this disease,” Genovese said. “There was no way.”

Spacey’s refusal to take accountability for his alleged sexual misconduct emerged as a major theme in the line of questioning from Adam Ziffer, a lawyer for the company, possibly to undermine later testimony from the actor that he didn’t have an illness and was prepared to shoot the sixth season of House of Cards. The actor stressed he didn’t believe the CNN report published in 2017 accusing Spacey of sexually harassing crew members, along with other stories revolving around allegations of sexual impropriety.

“It’d be nice if she corrected her story,” he quipped, referring to the reporter who wrote the story.

Asked about the legitimacy of accusations of several anonymous accusers, Spacey denied allegations of inappropriate touching. He referred to one the allegations in a prior deposition as an “entirely made up story.”

In the legal dispute between MRC and Spacey, which resulted in the $31 million judgement, an arbitrator found each of the complaining witnesses credible and that he violated anti-harassment policies in his contract.

“The conclusion is that for all of these reasons, it’s more likely than not that these incidents occurred,” Ziffer said, which drew a quick reply from Spacey that the standard is a “very low bar.”

“In your view, none of this occurred because you don’t misbehave on sets,” Ziffer responded. “I think we got a good look at how your accountability works.”

Spacey was much more receptive to questioning from Fireman’s Fund, which is looking to establish that he was ousted from the production because of media fallout in response to allegations of sexual assault rather than an underlying illness.

Asked whether he agreed with a diagnosis for sexual compulsive disorder, Spacey said he was initially told by a medical professional at The Meadows that he didn’t qualify as a sex addict. “I only found out later that they had in fact diagnosed me as sexually compulsive,” he said. “I can’t professionally dispute that, but I can personally dispute it.”

The founder of the rehab facility, he said, later asked him to be a spokesperson for sex addiction. “It was very much obvious they wanted me to be a sex addict.”

Spacey’s stay at The Meadows has been a major focus of the trial. His lawyer, Todd Rubenstein, told the production company on Nov. 4 that the actor was “available, willing and able to provide all of the services” required under his contract. That clashed with an earlier assertion from his agent, Matt DelPiano, to MRC CEO Scott Tenley a couple days earlier that Spacey was “sick” and going away for a “very long time.”

Before checking into the treatment center, Spacey’s manager had a conversation with Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos. “He said that I was family and that we were partners and that none of this would effect [House of Cards] and that they would go on hiatus and nothing would happen until Thanksgiving,” the actor said. “That they loved me and supported me and were supportive of my going away to take care of myself.”

But over Thanksgiving, Spacey learned that Netflix had walked away and publicly divorced itself from him alongside shelving Spacey starring-vehicle Gore despite Sarandos’ representation to him otherwise.

Also discussed during the hearing: Complaints from crewmembers against Robin Wright and Michael Kelly. “There had been an incident where he pulled a woman who was a member of the crew onto a bed,” Spacey said, referring to Kelly. “It became something that people talked about.”

The complaint against Wright wasn’t specified, though Spacey was asked about sexual jokes preceding the question implicating the actress.

MRC seeks upwards of $100 million. The trial began with opening statements earlier this month. It’s expected to last for several more weeks.

March 11, 2026
The Athletic: How Cleveland’s Max Strus built a community to help children defying disease

When Paityn got sick, Strus’ foundation had already decided it would introduce a new annual honor at camp — the Gary Strong Award, named for Wimmer’s late father. It would go to a young person who had shown unusual resilience in the face of illness.

Around that time, Paityn’s story appeared on the local news. Members of the foundation’s board saw it. Strus said it was likely his parents who first brought her name up. Maggie contacted Reggie via social media.

“Is there anything we can do to help?” she asked him.

That summer, at Strus’ basketball camp in the Chicago suburbs — attended by Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson, Caleb Martin, Strus’ former teammate on the Heat, New Orleans Pelicans forward Herb Jones and Sacramento Kings forward Keegan Murray — Paityn and her parents stood near the front of the gym as campers gathered cross-legged on the hardwood after the final session.

“Max walks up… he dabs them up… ‘Maximus!’” Sandy Castillo said later, still smiling at the memory. “And I was like, wait — he really knows you?”

Strus called Paityn forward and introduced her as the inaugural recipient of the Gary Strong Award. She received a $10,000 check to help with medical expenses from six weeks in intensive care and months of rehabilitation.

“The bills are going to keep coming,” Sandy said. “It’s strictly set aside for medical.”

The relationship between Strus and the Castillos didn’t end there.

When Paityn returned to volleyball — something doctors once weren’t sure she would do again — Strus went to a game. Oak Forest against Stagg, Strus’ alma mater. Strus had just suffered the injury that has kept him out this season, and was home beginning his rehab. Strus walked in quietly and took a seat midway up the bleachers with Wimmer and his mother, and Strus’s mom and sister. Reggie saw Strus first.

“I thought, ‘There’s no way,’” Reggie said.

Paityn spotted him during warmups. A double take. A grin she tried to suppress. Then back to the line drill. Strus stayed for the match. He cheered, clapped, and talked with the Castillos afterward about school and how her legs felt now compared to when she first started to walk again.

No cameras. No foundation signage. Just an NBA player in a high school gym watching a 14-year-old who had once been told recovery could take years.

“He’s still just Max from Hickory Hills,” Reggie said. “We know he has a sandwich named after him at a couple of the local sub joints around here. And he’s a Miller beer sponsor. But he’s still just Max.”

Two days before Christmas in 2024, Dylan Long went in for a sports physical.

He was 15, a right-handed pitcher and third baseman from the south suburbs. Routine bloodwork showed an abnormally high white blood cell count. More tests followed. On Dec. 23, doctors told him he had Stage 2A Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Four masses in his chest.

Chemo began Jan. 6, 2025. Dylan tried to hold his routine together. Treatment on Mondays. School on Thursdays and Fridays when he could manage it.

Then came proton radiation because the largest mass sat too close to his heart. For 22 consecutive mornings, he arrived at 6:30. He was strapped down so he wouldn’t move. A molded mask secured over his face. Fifteen minutes. Then school.

One afternoon that spring, after chemo, he took the mound.

“I couldn’t imagine doing that if someone had told me I would,” Dylan said.

Last summer, on the morning of the same day Paityn received her check from the Strus foundation, Dylan Long also stood at center court at Strus’ camp and accepted a $10,000 check as a beneficiary.

The money helped with medical expenses — proton radiation is expensive even with insurance — but his mother, Gina, still circles back to something else.

“It’s not even the money,” she said. “It’s knowing that they cared.”

Strus’ sister Maggie texted on radiation days. Before a PET scan, Dylan received a video message from Boston Red Sox pitcher Liam Hendriks, himself a Hodgkin survivor, wishing him luck. The video was arranged by Strus.

“It just shows they care,” Dylan said. “It was humbling.”

Long was declared in remission in November, 18 days before his 16th birthday.

On a cold night in Chicago earlier this season, Strus, Maggie and Wimmer walked into a flat on Chicago’s west side. It had exposed ceilings and hardwood floors and pillars holding up beams around the space, and they were escorted into a small boardroom to hang out with a grant recipient and some teenage students.

The Cavs were playing the next night against the Bulls, and Strus joined them on the trip, even though he wouldn’t be able to play.

No Shame On U is a Chicago-based mental health nonprofit that operates inside public schools, running workshops for middle and high school students on anxiety, depression and how to respond when a classmate says something serious.

The Strus foundation awarded No Shame on You a grant in late 2025 after reviewing applications from Chicago-area nonprofits. The funding allowed No Shame to expand its school-based programming after receiving more than 150 workshop requests from more than 25 schools in just three months.

In 2025, the group delivered 29 workshops reaching 871 students. With the foundation’s support, it expects to reach roughly 1,700 students in the coming year and complete a Teen Mental Health Guide designed to help students and families navigate moments of crisis.

When the Cavaliers were in Chicago, Strus, his sister Maggie and Wimmer visited the organization’s flat to sit in on a youth leadership session. They sat at a roundtable with about a dozen students who help lead peer mental health efforts in their schools.

Strus asked how many students they reached. What happens when someone says they’re in crisis? How do you respond when a classmate confides something heavy?

He talked about pressure — about how being a public figure doesn’t eliminate anxiety. That playing in the NBA doesn’t erase bad days.

“They don’t just want their name on something,” executive director Wendy Singer said. “They want to understand the impact.”

Singer said the funding from Strus’ foundation would allow her to double the number of in-school workshops she holds.

After one middle-school workshop, she said, a boy waited until the room cleared and asked for an extra bracelet. His sister was struggling. He wanted to give her something.

“The goal is just to create a community for all,” Strus said.

Joe Vardon is a senior NBA writer for The Athletic, based in Cleveland. Follow Joe on Twitter @joevardon

March 10, 2026
How will soaring oil prices caused by Iran war impact food costs?

For the first time since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the price of oil skyrocketed past $100 per barrel this week, driven by ongoing energy uncertainty after the United States and Israel’s war on Iran began on February 28.

About 20 percent of the world’s oil comes from the Gulf region, and most of it is shipped on massive tankers through the Strait of Hormuz. This narrow waterway, located between Iran and Oman, is only 21 nautical miles (39km) wide at its narrowest point.

More than 20 million barrels transit through the strait per day, which is one-fifth of global petroleum consumption and accounts for one-quarter of all oil traded by sea.

(Al Jazeera)

According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), more than three-quarters of the world’s oil supply (79.8 million barrels per day) travels by sea, funnelled through a handful of critical chokepoints with no easy transit alternatives.

Why are oil prices surging?

Since the Iran war began, marine traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has nearly ground to a halt. Attacks on vessels and interference with navigation equipment have pushed most operators to anchor their ships at the waterway’s edge rather than risk the crossing.

Without the flow of this oil, global supply chains are severely disrupted. With a limited supply and rising demand, prices are likely to increase, putting pressure on consumers and businesses.

While prices briefly dipped on Monday after US President Donald Trump said, “The war is very complete, pretty much,” analysts warned that high prices could persist if no agreement is reached between Washington, Tel Aviv and Tehran to stop the war.

“It’s all about risk,” Ismayil Jabiyev, supply chain analyst at CarbonChain, told Al Jazeera.

“Think about the Strait of Hormuz and cheap drones. It’s not a physical blockage – Iran hasn’t built a wall across the sea. Cheap drones will always pose a risk, even if all the launch sites are destroyed because hidden drone launches could continue for months. As long as hostilities continue, the disruption is likely to persist. I don’t see any real progress or resolution on the horizon,” Jabiyev added.

Which countries rely most on Middle Eastern oil?

About 89 percent of the oil that flows through the Strait of Hormuz is bound for Asian markets with China, India, Japan and South Korea the top buyers.

If traffic remains restricted, Gulf exporters will be forced to seek alternative routes, but options are limited with Saudi Aramco’s East-West Crude Oil Pipeline and the United Arab Emirates’s Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline (Habshan-Fujairah pipeline) offering a capacity of about 4.7 million barrels per day (bpd).

The Saudi pipeline runs from eastern oilfields to the port of Yanbu on the Red Sea, one of the few arteries that bypasses the strait entirely. However, of the 7.2 million bpd that Saudi Arabia exported in February, 6.38 million bpd relied on passage through the strait, according to Kpler, a global trade data and analytics firm.

(Al Jazeera)

Gavekal Research, an independent macroeconomic research firm, estimated that Gulf exporters, including Iran, could reroute at most an additional 3.5 million bpd to terminals outside the strait. But as long as the bulk of tanker traffic remains suspended, the world would still be facing a sudden supply shortfall of about 15 million bpd.

“I’m somewhat sceptical about those alternatives. Yes, the East-West pipeline and the Fujairah pipeline exist, but capacity-wise, they don’t come close to the main route.” Jabiyev told Al Jazeera.

“There’s also the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline from Iraq’s northern provinces to Turkiye, but that’s limited to northern field production. The major Iraqi output comes from the southern fields, so again, it’s a partial replacement, not a full one.”

What is the highest oil price ever recorded?

Oil prices rose to their highest levels during the global financial crisis. On July 11, 2008, Brent crude, the European benchmark, hit $147.50 per barrel while West Texas intermediate crude, the US benchmark, hit a peak of $147.27. That spike was driven by a mix of a weakening US dollar and a massive influx of speculative money rather than a physical disruption to supply.

Throughout history, there have been a handful of energy market shocks when oil supplies were actually threatened, most notably the 1973 oil embargo, the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s, the 1990-1991 Gulf War, the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq and the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

(Al Jazeera)

“I think the Gulf War of 1990-91 is the most instructive comparison. Iraq and Kuwait together represented two major producers, and the disruption was serious and prolonged – lasting roughly half a year or more, even though the military phase was fairly brief,” Jabiyev told Al Jazeera.

“The world experienced high crude oil prices for an extended period and eventually faced some economic slowdown as a result. That makes it most analogous to our current situation: a likely long-term disruption, sustained high prices and a meaningful risk of economic slowdown. The key variable, as in 1990, was how quickly the affected countries could restore their production infrastructure and bring supply back online.”

How does crude oil become petrol?

Crude oil is a yellowish-black fossil fuel pumped from the ground and refined into fuels like petrol, diesel and jet fuel. The refining process also produces numerous household items.

Oil is graded by thickness and sulphur content. Light, sweet crude is low in sulphur and easy to refine and thus more valuable. After extraction, crude oil is sent to refineries where heat separates it into products. Lighter fuels form at lower temperatures while heavier products, such as asphalt, require much higher heat.

A barrel contains 159 litres, or 42 gallons, of crude oil. Once refined, a barrel typically produces about 73 litres, or 19.35 gallons, of petrol to power cars and trucks.

(Al Jazeera)

What products are made from oil and gas?

Oil and gas are used for far more than just fuel. They are raw materials for thousands of everyday products.

Plastics, including water bottles, food packaging, phone casings and medical syringes, are all derived from crude oil.

Crude oil is also the hidden ingredient in synthetic fabrics, such as polyester, nylon and acrylic, which is in everything from sportswear to carpets. It also underpins the cosmetics industry in products that include petroleum jelly, lipsticks and concealers.

Household items also rely on oil-based ingredients with laundry detergents, dishwashing liquids and paints all derived from petroleum products.

The global food supply is essentially built on natural gas in the form of fertilisers, used to enhance crop yields and ensure that food production can meet demand.

(Al Jazeera)

How high oil costs drive up the price of food

Oil prices and food prices move in lockstep with energy prices affecting every stage of the food supply chain from the fertilisers used in the fields to the trucks that carry food from the fields to supermarket shelves.

Rising oil prices directly affect shipping and the cost of transportation.

“The lifeblood of the global economy is transport,” economist David McWilliams told Al Jazeera. “It’s getting stuff from A to B. It’s a logistics problem, a supply chain problem, and ultimately, transportation is the energy of the global economy.”

Fears of stagflation – rising inflation and rising unemployment, which major oil shocks have historically summoned – are rising. Economists pointed to the crises of 1973, 1978 and 2008 as evidence that every significant spike in oil prices has been followed, in some form, by a global recession.

In lower-income countries, where populations spend a far greater share of their income on food and import large quantities of grain and fertiliser, rising oil prices could rapidly translate into food shortages.

March 10, 2026
‘Mariinka’ Review: A Haunting Chronicle of Young Lives Shattered by the War in Ukraine

In “Mariinka,” Belgian filmmaker Pieter-Jan De Pue tells another story of the war in Ukraine — this time through the perspective of five young people. All of them were at a pivotal life milestone when the war broke out. Overnight their lives were changed. Through intimate observational footage, letters read in voiceover, archival footage of their lives before the war, De Pue shows the devastating and lasting effects of war on the lives of the protagonists. Shot over 10 years, “Mariinka” captures the passage of time and the change it brings, thus becoming a poignant diary of change and resilience but also of crushing loss.

Some of the protagonists have tangential connections to each other, while some are family. However, all come from the eponymous city in Eastern Ukraine. It’s a city of division laying close to the border with Russia. At the center of the fighting, its people’s allegiances are also divided between the two warring factions. Natasha, a promising boxer before the war, becomes a military paramedic. Angela, grieving for her family and friends gone in the war, smuggles goods along the front lines to make a living. In a turn of biblical proportions, brothers Mark and Ruslan fight for opposite sides in the war with vocal animosity towards each other: shades of Cain and Abel. Their younger brother Daniil is adopted by an American family from Mississippi and separated from his brothers and drug addicted mother. Another brother, Maksim, is introduced early on as suffering a debilitating injury from the war. However the filmmakers entirely forget about his story until the end title cards, where the audience gets an update on his whereabouts.

While “Mariinka” is mostly linear in its storytelling, De Pue occasionally cuts back and forth to archival footage shot before the war. Nataasha in particular appears in school, at her graduation in full ballroom regalia, which provides a stark contrast to her life on the front line trying to save lives and dealing with injured soldiers. Angela’s story is one of endurance and grief. The film follows as she takes bold measures to smuggle goods and even babies across the border in a militarized war zone. Is she brave or psychologically detached from the dangers around her? Both her grief and numbness are palpably captured by De Pue’s camera.

The brothers’ story shows not just the friction that separates a family with different patriotic allegiances, but also the geographical and physical separation of having one of them far away in America. Daniil, renamed Samuel by his adoptive parents, stays connected to his brothers through Facetime calls, letters and Christmas gifts. He grows up within the film’s timeline to be a young man of 17. He’s intrigued by military life, not just because his brothers are serving, but also because he grew up in gun culture within his religious Southern family. The filmmakers make a pointed but subtle comparison to the environments in both countries that drove these young people to enlist. While “Mariinka” never explicitly answers that question, it offers the audience many possibilities, including patriotism, religious piety, nationalism and violent cultures.

De Pue, who shot the documentary himself, uses 16mm film, making this visceral narrative feel intimate. The camera lingers on faces to capture the emotions that run through. Using traditional Ukrainian folklore songs, voiceover plus pounding music, the stakes these young people confront become clearly apparent. The war footage shows the destruction and loss of life and limb in close proximity. Adding to the strength of the narrative is the propulsive editing, particularly in putting together the footage shot on the war’s frontlines.

Ultimately “Mariinka” leaves the impression less of a conventional war documentary than of a fragmented chronicle of youth interrupted. De Pue’s patient, intimate camera captures the emotional toll of a decade lived in the shadow of conflict. What lingers by the film’s end is the sense of time passing and lives irrevocably altered, a necessary reminder that the consequences of war extend far beyond the battlefield.

March 10, 2026
‘One Piece’ Producers Tomorrow Studios to Adapt ‘Samurai Champloo’ With Creator Shinichirō Watanabe (EXCLUSIVE)

Tomorrow Studios is developing a live-action adaptation of the cult anime “Samurai Champloo,” with original series creator Shinichirō Watanabe attached to the project, the studio’s executive producers told Variety exclusively.

The adaptation would mark the next major swing from producers Marty Adelstein and Becky Clements, who built Tomorrow Studios into a premier destination for anime-to-live-action adaptations on the back of their Netflix hit “One Piece.” The news comes as “One Piece” Season 2 premieres Tuesday on Netflix, with the first two episodes set for a special theatrical run in approximately 200 movie theaters across the U.S., Canada and Japan beginning March 10.

“We had dinner with [Watanabe] in Japan and said, if we move forward on doing ‘Samurai Champloo,’ we really want you to be a part of the creative,” Clements told Variety. “We were thrilled that he was willing to do that.”

The project is in early development, and Tomorrow Studios has not yet taken it out to networks, though Clements said the studio has received “a lot of incoming calls” about the property. The adaptation will retain the core elements fans love while updating the material for a contemporary television audience. Clements said music will be central to the process — the original anime’s hip-hop-inflected score was a defining characteristic — and that the studio plans to bring in a major recording artist early to help establish the show’s sound.

The production company previously adapted Watanabe’s other signature work, “Cowboy Bebop,” for Netflix in 2021, though that series was canceled after one season. Clements acknowledged Watanabe was less involved creatively on that project.

“We’ve learned,” said Adelstein. “Having the creator there to bless the creative is really important.”

That lesson has been central to the success of “One Piece,” where manga creator Eiichiro Oda functions as an active producer across every stage of production — from scripts and casting to editorial and VFX reviews. When Season 1 debuted in 2023, Oda wrote a letter to fans expressing his emotional response to seeing his work realized on screen, which Clements credits with helping win over skeptical devotees of the source material.

“When he says, ‘I was in it and it’s real,’ it does help,” Clements said.

That goodwill paid off. Season 1 spent eight weeks on Netflix’s Global Top 10, reached No. 1 in more than 75 countries and made history as the first English-language Netflix series to debut at No. 1 in Japan. It has surpassed 100 million views and ranks among Netflix’s most downloaded series of all time. A second season seemed to be a foregone conclusion.

Emily Rudd as Nami, Iñaki Godoy as Monkey D. Luffy and Jacob Romero as Usopp.

COURTESY OF NETFLIX

Season 2 picks up immediately where the first left off, with Monkey D. Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates entering the treacherous Grand Line. Clements described the scale as “unrelenting” from the opening scene, with roughly 1,500 crew members across production design, stunts, visual effects, practical effects, hair, makeup and costume all working to bring Oda’s world to screen.

The new season adds a substantial roster of new cast members, including Katey Sagal as Dr. Kureha, Joe Manganiello as the villainous Mr. 0, Charithra Chandran as Miss Wednesday, David Dastmalchian as Mr. 3, Sophia Anne Caruso as Miss Goldenweek and Camrus Johnson as Mr. 5, among others. Locations this season include Loguetown, Reverse Mountain, Whisky Peak, Little Garden and Drum Island.

Jazzara Jaslyn, left, as Miss Valentine, Lera Abova as Miss All Sunday, Camrus Johnson as Mr. 5.

Casey Crafford/Netflix

Perhaps the most anticipated addition is Tony Tony Chopper, the fan-favorite reindeer doctor, brought to life through a combination of prosthetics, VFX and performance capture from actress Mikaela Hoover, whose facial expressions were recorded and mapped onto the digital character.

“Chopper is so popular, we took extreme care in every part of it,” Clements said, noting that Oda had emphasized the Japanese concept of kawaii — a specific kind of joyful, endearing quality — as the emotional target the character needed to hit. “Our VFX team’s desire is to make chopper move you — you just need to watch the season.”

Tony Tony Chopper in season 2 of One Piece.

Courtesy of Netflix

Season 3 is currently in production. Clements confirmed she was reviewing dailies the morning of the interview and offered little else, other than to say the show continues to surprise even its own producers.

“Even you’re surprised every day with what you’re going to see,” she said. “It’s always a new idea.”

Beyond “One Piece,” Tomorrow Studios is in the midst of a broader expansion. The studio closed 2024 with a straight-to-series order for “So Far Gone” at Netflix, and announced “Reversal of Fortune” with writer Jack Thorne and “Funny You Should Ask” starring Regé-Jean Page, both for Apple TV+, along with a TV adaptation of Ace Atkins’ New York Times bestseller “Don’t Let the Devil Ride,” with “Luke Cage” showrunner Cheo Hodari Coker writing. Adelstein and Clements said the studio expects to be in production on those projects in the second half of 2026.

The studio also scored a ratings win for ABC’s “Shifting Gears.” Previous credits include “The Better Sister” for Prime Video, “Snowpiercer” for TNT/AMC+ and “Physical” for Apple TV+. Tomorrow Studios is a partnership between Adelstein and ITV Studios, with Adelstein serving as founder and CEO and Clements as partner and president.

“One Piece” Season 2 is now streaming on Netflix.

March 10, 2026
3 Different Types of ADHD Identified in New Study. What to Know
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A new study using brain scans discovered that there may be three distinct types of ADHD. Image Credit: Delmaine Donson/Getty Images
A recent study suggests there may be three different biotypes of ADHD.

The findings suggest that each biotype (subtype) of ADHD may have its own distinct chemical reactions in the brain.

Experts say that more research is needed, but the study could mark a shift in how ADHD is diagnosed and treated.
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder.

Symptoms of ADHD can vary in severity, and around 6 in 10 children have moderate to severe symptoms.

Current treatment for ADHD is typically categorized by age group. However, it generally involves a combination of medications and behavioral therapies.

A recent study published in JAMA Psychiatry suggests that there may be three distinct subtypes of ADHD.

“This could mark the beginning of the end for one-size-fits-all ADHD treatment,” said Rod Mitchell, a registered psychologist and founder of Emotions Therapy, Calgary, AB, Canada, who was not involved in the study.

“If each biotype involves different neural circuits and neurotransmitter systems, then the standard ‘diagnose, prescribe stimulant, adjust dose’ approach may only be well-suited to one of the three groups,” he told Healthline.
The study looked at the chemical and structural patterns of the brains of 1,154 participants with ADHD.

When they analyzed brain scans and neurochemical signals, they found that ADHD did not affect everyone’s brain activity the same way.

They noticed that three distinctive patterns seemed to emerge.

The three subtypes of ADHD that they found were:
severe combined with emotional dysregulation

predominantly hyperactive/impulsive

predominatly inattentive
“Each biotype tells a distinct neurobiological story,” said Mitchell.

He explained that the predominantly inattentive type showed alterations in a region tied to sustained attention and filtering distraction.

The predominantly hyperactive/impulsive type showed disruption in circuitry that governs impulse braking and action regulation. Both broadly align with what clinicians have observed for years.

“Interestingly, their phenotypes mirror the DSM-5,” said David Goodman, MD, assistant professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, MD, and a clinical associate professor at the Department of Psychiatry at Norton School of Medicine, State University of New York, Syracuse, NY. Goodman wasn’t involved in the study.

“In some way, these findings support the utility of the DSM-5 when pursuing this research population,” Goodman told Healthline.

The severe-combined type with emotional dysregulation is where this study breaks new ground.

This type showed the most widespread brain alterations, the most persistent emotional dysregulation over time, and preliminary signals of elevated mood disorder comorbidity — all underpinned by involvement across serotonin, dopamine, acetylcholine, and histamine pathways simultaneously, explained Mitchell.

“That neurochemical complexity helps explain why these are often the clients who don’t respond to stimulant medication alone,” Mitchell said.

The researchers note that understanding subtypes of ADHD may, “ultimately create a path toward developing personalised therapeutic strategies.”

“The correlation of neural networks and 3 biotypes in this study supports ongoing research with this concept … until a large, well-controlled clinical study demonstrates the clear benefit of one compound over another for a specific symptom cluster, this current research contributes to the evolution of ADHD neuroscience with guarded clinical applicability,” said Goodman.
Diagnosing ADHD involves several steps. The CDC states that there is no single test to diagnose the condition.

Treatment for ADHD most often involves a combination of behavioral therapy and medications.

This can depend on the age at which a person is diagnosed, however. For example, for children under 6, parent training in behavior management is generally the first line of treatment before medication.

For children ages 6 years and over, treatment generally involves a combination of therapy and medications. Behavior therapy helps the child learn how to reduce certain behaviors and increase self-regulation skills. It also typically involves training for parents.

There are two types of medications for ADHD: stimulant and non-stimulant.

It’s important for parents to work closely with healthcare professionals to find the right treatment for their child.
March 10, 2026