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What is uranium enrichment and how quickly could Iran build a nuclear bomb?
United States President Donald Trump has claimed that a new nuclear deal being negotiated with Iran will be “far better” than the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which the US withdrew from in 2018 during his first term.

On Tuesday, Trump extended the two-week ceasefire with Iran a day before it was set to expire, with hopes for a second round of talks in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Key among the US demands is that Iran stop all enrichment of uranium.

Iran has always insisted its nuclear programme is for civilian use only, such as for power generation, which requires uranium enrichment of between 3 percent and 5 percent. To build nuclear weapons, uranium needs to be enriched to 90 percent.

In this explainer, we visualise what uranium is, how it is enriched and how long it could take Iran to make a nuclear weapon.

What is uranium, and which countries have it?

Uranium is a dense metal used as a fuel in nuclear reactors and weapons. It is naturally radioactive and usually found in low concentrations in rocks, soil and even seawater. About 90 percent of the world’s uranium is produced in just five countries: Kazakhstan, Canada, Namibia, Australia and Uzbekistan. Reserves of uranium have also been found in other countries.

Uranium is extracted either by digging it out of the ground or, more commonly, through a chemical process that dissolves uranium from within the rock.

Before it can be used as nuclear fuel, uranium is processed through several different forms, including:
- Yellowcake: Mined ore is crushed and treated with chemicals to form a coarse powder known as yellowcake, which, irrespective of its name, is usually dark green or charcoal in colour, depending on how hot it has been treated.
- Uranium tetrafluoride: Yellowcake is then treated with hydrogen fluoride gas, which turns it into emerald-green crystals known as uranium tetrafluoride or green salt.
- Uranium hexafluoride: Green salt is further fluorinated to create a solid white crystal known as uranium hexafluoride. When heated slightly, this crystal turns into a gas, making it ready for enrichment.
- Uranium dioxide: The gas is spun in a centrifuge machine, which chemically converts it into a fine, black powder.
- Fuel pellets: The black powder is pressed to form black ceramic pellets, which can then be used in a nuclear reactor.
How is uranium enriched?

Natural uranium exists in three forms, called isotopes. They are the same element, with the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons.

Most naturally occurring uranium (99.3 percent) is U-238 – the heaviest and least radioactive – while about 0.7 percent is U-235 and trace amounts (0.005 percent) are U-234.

To generate energy, scientists separate the lighter, more radioactive U-235 from the slightly heavier U-238 in a process called uranium enrichment. U-235 can sustain a nuclear chain reaction while U-238 cannot.

To enrich uranium, it must first be converted into a gas, known as uranium hexafluoride (UF₆). This gas is fed into a series of fast-spinning cylinders called centrifuges. These cylinders spin at extremely high speeds (often more than 1,000 revolutions per second). The spinning force pushes the heavier U-238 to the outer walls, while the lighter U-235 stays in the centre and is collected.

A single centrifuge provides only a tiny amount of separation. To reach higher concentrations – or “enrichment” – the process is repeated through a series of centrifuges, called a cascade, until the desired concentration of U-235 is achieved.

What are the different levels of uranium enrichment?

The higher the U‑235 percentage, the more highly enriched the uranium is.

Small amounts (3-5 percent) are enough to fuel nuclear power reactors, while weapons require much higher enrichment levels (about 90 percent).

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) considers anything below 20 percent to be low-enriched uranium (LEU), while anything above 20 percent is considered highly-enriched uranium (HEU).

Low enriched – less than 20 percent
- Commercial grade – 3-5 percent: This is the standard fuel for the vast majority of the world’s nuclear power plants
- Small modular reactors – 5-19.9 percent: Used in more modern reactors and advanced research reactors
Highly enriched – More than 20 percent
- Research grade – 20-85 percent: Used in specialised research reactors to produce medical isotopes or to test materials
- Weapons grade – above 90 percent: This is the level required for most nuclear weapons
- Naval grade – 93-97 percent: Used in the nuclear reactors that power submarines and aircraft carriers
Depleted uranium, which contains less than 0.3 percent U‑235, is the leftover product after enrichment. It can be used for radiation shielding or as projectiles in armour‑piercing weapons.

How long does it take to enrich uranium?

The effort it takes to enrich uranium is not linear, meaning it is much more difficult to go from 0.7 percent natural uranium to 20 percent LEU than it is to go from 20 percent to 90 percent HEU. Once uranium reaches 60 percent enrichment, it becomes much quicker to reach 90 percent weapons grade.

The effort it takes to enrich uranium is measured in separative work units (SWU).

According to the IAEA, Iran is believed to have about 440kg (970lbs) of uranium enriched to 60 percent – enough to theoretically build 10 or 11 low-technology atomic bombs if refined to 90 percent.

The then-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad inspecting the Natanz nuclear plant in central Iran, March 2007 [Handout/Iran President’s Office via EPA]

Ted Postol, professor emeritus of science, technology and international security at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), told Al Jazeera that before the US attack on Iran’s nuclear facility at Fordow, the country had at least 10 cascades of 174 IR-6 centrifuges in operation – meaning 1,740 IR-6 centrifuges.

The IR-6 is one of Iran’s most advanced centrifuge models. The country also has tens of thousands of older centrifuges.

Little is known about the conditions of these centrifuges or the stocks of uranium hexafluoride, which are still believed to be buried underground.

Postol has calculated that Iran’s cascade of centrifuges could produce 900 to 1,000 SWUs annually.

“Getting from natural uranium to 60 percent enrichment, which Iran has already achieved, takes roughly five years, and about 5,000 SWUs using Iran’s cascades.”

“If I want to go from 60 to 90 percent, I only need 500 SWUs. So, instead of five years, [by] starting with the 60 percent here, this might take me four or five weeks. Because I am already very enriched,” Postol said.

Using an analogy of a clock, Postol explained: “Let’s say it takes seven minutes to get 33 percent enrichment, and then eight minutes to get to 50 percent enrichment. It only takes me one minute to get to total [90 percent] enrichment.”

How easy would it be for Iran to build a nuclear weapon?

Postol said Iran’s stockpile is held underground, meaning a military strike would not necessarily eliminate the nuclear threat.

A single centrifuge cascade capable of enriching weapons-grade uranium could take up “no more floor space than a studio apartment, making it easily hidden in a small laboratory”, he said, estimating the area at 60sq metres (600sq feet).

“A single Prius Compact Hybrid car can produce enough electric power to run four or more of these cascades at a time,” Postol added, meaning “Iran can covertly convert its 60 percent uranium into weapons-grade uranium metal”.

“What they have done is put themselves in a position where anybody who thinks about attacking them with nuclear weapons has to know that they could be sitting in those tunnels after such an attack, refining [and] enriching the final step they need to build atomic weapons and converting it to metal, and building a nuclear weapon, and that they have the means to deliver it,” Postol said.

“They would have all of the technical equipment they need to build the atomic weapons. And they have the missiles, which are also in the tunnels and can be manufactured in addition to what they already have. And the atomic weapon would not need to be tested, because uranium weapons do not need to be tested before they’re used.”

What does the NPT say about enrichment?

The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), established in 1968, is a landmark international agreement aimed at preventing the spread of nuclear weapons and promoting peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Iran is a signatory to this pact.

The treaty supports the right of all signatories to access nuclear technology and enrich uranium for peaceful purposes, including energy, medical or industrial purposes, with precise safeguards to ensure it is not diverted to make weapons.

Under the NPT, nuclear-weapon states agree not to transfer nuclear weapons or assist non-nuclear-weapon states in developing them. Non-nuclear-weapon states also agree not to seek or acquire nuclear weapons.

Despite this, most nuclear powers are currently modernising their arsenals rather than dismantling them.

Most of the countries are signatories, except five: India, Pakistan, Israel, South Sudan and North Korea.

What agreements has Iran made about its nuclear programme in the past?

In 2015, under the Obama administration, Iran struck a deal with six world powers — China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and the US — plus the European Union, known as the JCPOA.

Under the pact, Tehran agreed to scale down its nuclear programme, capping enrichment to 3.67 percent, in exchange for relief from sanctions.

“The Iranians agreed to it, and they were following the treaty. There was no problem with the treaty at all, absolutely no problem,” Postol said.

“They were allowed to have 6,000 centrifuges, which, if they had natural uranium, they could probably build a bomb within a year if they were secretly using these centrifuges, but that was all under inspection. They were just simply going to enrich to 3.67 percent, which is for a power reactor. They’re allowed to do that by the Non-Proliferation Treaty.”

But in 2018, Trump pulled out of the deal, calling it “one-sided” and reimposing sanctions on Iran. Iran responded by eventually resuming enrichment at Fordow.

After the US killed Iran’s General Qassem Soleimani in January 2020, Tehran stated it would no longer follow the set uranium enrichment limits.

Former President Joe Biden made attempts to revive the deal, but it never came to fruition due to disagreements over whether sanctions should be lifted first or Iran should rejoin the JCPOA first.

Trump has repeatedly said Iran should not have the ability to produce nuclear weapons. It has been one of Washington’s red lines during talks with Iranian officials over the past year, and was also the central justification that Washington used when it bombed Iranian nuclear facilities during the 12-day US-Israel war on Iran last year.

In the current negotiations, Iran has said it is willing to “downblend” its 60 percent enriched uranium to about 20 percent – the threshold for low-enriched uranium. The process of downblending involves mixing stocks with depleted uranium to achieve a lower percentage of enriched U-235 overall.

“From the point of view of showing goodwill, I think it’s good, it shows that the Iranians are thinking of ways to address what the Americans claim are their concerns,” Postol said.

Which countries have nuclear weapons?

Nine countries possessed roughly 12,187 nuclear warheads as of early 2026, according to the Federation of American Scientists. Approximately two-thirds are owned by two nations – Russia (4,400) and the US (3,700), excluding their retired nuclear arsenals.

Some 9,745 of the total existing nuclear weapons are military stockpiles for missiles, submarines and aircraft. The rest have been retired. Of the military stockpile, 3,912 are currently deployed on missiles or at bomber bases, according to the Federation of American Scientists. Of these, some 2,100 are on US, Russian, British and French warheads, ready for use at short notice.

While Russia and the US have dismantled thousands of warheads, several countries are thought to be increasing their stockpiles, notably China.

The only country to have voluntarily relinquished nuclear weapons is South Africa. In 1989, the government halted its nuclear weapons programme and began dismantling its six nuclear weapons the following year.

Israel is believed to possess nuclear weapons, with a stockpile of at least 90. It has consistently neither confirmed nor denied this, and despite numerous treaties, it faces little international pressure for transparency.
April 22, 2026
Box Office: ‘Michael’ Aims for $70 Million-Plus Debut, Record Start for Music Biopic

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“Michael” will moonwalk to the top of box office charts.

Lionsgate’s film about the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, is aiming for $65 million to $70 million from 3,900 North American theaters in its opening weekend. Some exhibitors are predicting the final number will be closer to $80 million as advance ticket sales, particularly in premium large formats like Imax, continue to rise. Even the lower end of projections would rank as the largest debut ever for a musical biopic, ahead of 2018’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” ($51 million) and 2015’s “Straight Outta Compton” ($60 million).

At the international box office, where Universal is handling the rollout, “Michael” is expected to be even bigger. It’s projected to earn $75 million to $80 million from 82 markets. Globally, the film should end up with a stellar $140 million to $150 million (or more) by Sunday.

In other words, “Michael” is primed to be a massive crowd-pleaser despite the poor reviews and costly behind-the-scenes turmoil. That’s promising because “Michael” is also one of the most expensive music biopics of all time. The film originally cost $155 million, in part because of expensive music rights and extensive recreations of famous concert performances. Then the singer’s estate had to pay tens of millions for additional photography after learning the third act of the film was unusable. The story had dealt with a 1993 lawsuit that accused Michael Jackson of child sexual abuse, which he denied. After the movie was shot, producers discovered a clause in the settlement with the young accuser that barred the depiction or mention of him in film or television.

Director Antoine Fuqua (“Training Day”) retooled the movie so the dramatic tension is about the singer’s relationship with his domineering father, Joe Jackson, who doesn’t want his son’s solo career to come at the expense of the Jackson 5, the Motown group that put the family on the map. Michael Jackson is portrayed by his real-life nephew Jaafar Jackson, while his parents, Joe and Katherine Jackson, are played by Colman Domingo and Nia Long. These changes caused the studio to delay the movie’s release by a year.

Hollywood is looking at “Bohemian Rhapsody” as a point of box office comparison. The Queen biopic, which also heavily leaned on thrilling concert sequences to electrify audiences, stands as the biggest music biopic of all time with $910 million worldwide. Internally, Lionsgate hopes “Michael” will gross at least $700 million worldwide. Should the film reach those box office heights, Lionsgate is planning to make at least one more film about Jackson’s life. The studios suggest roughly 30% of the material that was jettisoned from “Michael” could be reconstituted for potential sequels.

As this weekend’s only major release, “Michael” will easily tower over North American charts. Reigning champ “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” is poised for second place after three weekends in the No. 1 spot. Universal’s animated sequel about the beloved Nintendo characters has become another box office smash with $356 million domestically and $752 million globally to date.

After a better-than-expected April, the box office is ahead 16% from the same point in 2025, according to Comscore. Momentum should continue in May as Disney’s fashion-forward follow-up “The Devil Wears Prada 2” kicks off the month, followed by the Warner Bros. action sequel “Mortal Kombat 2” and the “Star Wars” spinoff “The Mandalorian and Grogu.”

April 22, 2026
Here’s to the stable ones: In praise of Tim Cook

Tim Cook’s tenure as Apple CEO ends September 1 when he takes the role of executive chair. He will be replaced by John Ternus, a 25-year Apple veteran and head of its hardware engineering division. I get the sense Cook’s professional obituaries will focus on his steady hand, execution success and lack of intra-company drama. All of those are virtues but I suspect the media, ever in love with a narrative of its own concoction, will use them as cudgels. Consider this an attempt to balance the record ahead of Cook’s damning with the faintest of praise.

Cook is quiet and private, making it easy to paint him as a bland managerialist who coasted on the success of the iPhone. In Ternus, Apple once again has a “product guy” at its helm, a term loaded with enough subtext to sink a battleship. You can feel the implication that it’s only “product guys” who have the vision, taste and knowledge to innovate. By extension, Cook was never “a real nerd,” but an empty finance guy that never understood what makes Apple tick.

If there’s one thing Silicon Valley loves more than money, it’s a mercurial genius upon whom they can rest their dreams. Figures with a capital-V vision who invent new product categories with a flick of a wrist, captains of industry who inspire awe and devotion. And making enough money that even a Rockefeller would start thinking “gosh, that’s a bit much.”

The Jobsian myth-making obscures his talents and minimizes the number of misses he had along the way. Jobs’ first tenure at Apple ended in failure and NeXT, for all its innovation, didn’t survive as a standalone hardware maker. Many of his ideas were too big and ambitious to succeed and his refusal to compromise made them sink. His time in the wilderness made him a better manager, and a far better storyteller. But to suggest Jobs was gifted with Midas’ touch is wrong, since for all his vision and taste, he needed strong execution.

Kimberly White via Getty Images

It doesn’t help that Jobs is the ur-example of Silicon Valley’s tech genius founder which means so many there have never stopped looking for his successor. The title of “the next Steve Jobs” has been diluted to the point of meaninglessness at this point given the list of nominees. Those include Elizabeth Holmes, Elon Musk, Adam Neumann, Trevor Milton, Sam Altman and Travis Kalanick. Given that sort of company, I’m sure Cook is delighted when people say he’s no Steve Jobs.

I suspect, in part, Cook was seen as a mere employee (derogatory) rather than a startup founder who built something himself. That obscures his success, first at IBM and Intelligent Electronics where he took up a COO role at 34. Even in an industry that treasures youth, I doubt these companies would elevate someone as young as Cook unless he was damn good. And when he got to Apple in 1998, his role was to make the wheels of the company turn. We may laud Jobs and Ive for dreaming up the products but, to quote Jobs himself, “real artists ship.” By that metric, Cook was the real artist.

When Cook took over as Apple CEO, it was just weeks before Jobs passed away, in what must have been a very hard time. Holding the company together after such a shock while grieving for your own loss must have been an enormous challenge. And while Cook had Jobs’ army of lieutenants around him, it was upon Cook to actually lead that team. That he then took Apple to the outrageous success it is today is proof of his ability to actually make things happen. Think about how it was Cook that used Apple’s initial success to make good deals with manufacturers that wound up boxing out so many of its rivals.

I’m sure Cook lacks the taste and vision of a Jobs or an Ive, and instead relies upon the skill of his team. I’m not sure why that would be painted as a bad thing given the roster of people Apple pays to have such taste. If Cook is lacking in taste, he’s not lacking in humility, and clearly knows well enough to not meddle in things. Friends, that’s not the sign of a bad leader, it’s the sign of a good one, who makes his team feel trusted, respected, and listened to. Think about how rapidly Cook democratized the Apple keynotes, making stars of many of its senior executives, rather than trying to put on a Steve Jobs tribute act.

His tenure as CEO wasn’t flawless: Hiring John Browett to replace Ron Johnson at Retail was an early error — but one that Cook was smart enough to correct just six months later. The power struggles with Scott Forstall could be a miss given Ive’s instincts around user interface design. On the product front, we had the embarrassment of AirPower, the stop-start work on the Mac Pro and the muted rollout of the Vision Pro. The lack of proactive management of the App Store and the opacity of its workings counts as a big strike, too. I’m sure we’ll get some chatter about the Apple Car project from people who thought that was ever a good idea.

As for the Trump Stuff(™), I have some sympathy for Cook, who probably didn’t expect to play diplomat when he took the job. His ties to the current administration have tainted his reputation, even if his engagement seems finely calibrated. As CEO of Apple, he’s responsible for around 170,000 people and has legal obligations as the head of a public company. As much as he may wish to flick the bird at the Commander in Chief, he has to tread a fine line. And it will be for him to wrestle with his own conscience to decide if he did the right thing down the line.

One of the pitfalls of a sustained period of success is that people lose sight of how things were in the bad old days. You can anticipate the editorials saying Cook “failed” on AI because he wisely avoided not launching head-first into a boondoggle. “Failed” on launching a new product category in the post-Jobs world, even though the Apple Watch and AirPods are, on their own, a bigger business than some major corporations. “Failed” by building a subscription and services business despite every single hardware company in the world doing the same thing.

I’d say Cook’s judgment was far better than anyone has given him credit for, and he’s made plenty of earth-shattering changes of his own. Think about Apple Silicon and how it has upended the order of things in the chip world, almost inadvertently taking a wrecking ball to Intel’s dominance. A technology transition that was so seamless, so undramatic, and yet with so many dividends, that the idea of Apple using other people’s chips in its hardware feels like ancient history.

To all of those people, I’d say look — look! — with your own stupid eyes at the MacBook Neo. Look at a company that found a way to produce hardware like that, with performance like that, for that sort of price! The MacBook Neo is so good and so cheap that it’s made the rest of the consumer electronics industry look like incompetents. It may not be a shiny new gadget you can show off to the envy of your early adopter friends, but it’s going to make a meaningful difference for countless people.

We can all agree that no kid is going to hang a poster of Tim Cook on their bedroom wall in the same way they might with Jobs, or even Musk. I don’t think that’s a bad thing, because Cook’s legacy isn’t in headlines or fawning biopics, it’s in a legacy of actually getting things done.

April 22, 2026
A Whale Waited Patiently, Found the Peak! Turned $575 into $1.7 Million! Here’s the Altcoin It Bought!

Memecoins are known for their sudden rises and falls, with some investors making millions of dollars during these surges.

Recently, there have been two examples of this. According to a post by the cryptocurrency platform Lookonchain, a lucky investor turned $575 into $1.7 million in a memecoin.

Accordingly, this investor made headlines in the market by multiplying his fortune thanks to Asteroid (ASTEROID), one of the most popular memecoins of recent days.

According to Lookonchain’s report, this investor acquired 2.79 billion ASTEROID tokens and then sold them for 503 Ethereum (worth $1.17 million $ETH), making a profit of $1.17 million.

Thus, in just 5 days, this investor turned $575 into $1.17 million. This represents a return of over 2,000 times the initial investment.

This lucky investor didn’t even sell when the total value of their ASTEROID tokens exceeded $1 million. Waiting two more days for the rise to continue, the patient investor seems to have managed to sell at the peak.

Besides this investor, another investor made a huge profit from memecoins. This investor’s success came from forgetfulness. According to Lookonchain’s report, an investor forgot about the memecoin called FLORK, which they bought in 2023. During this time, the FLORK memecoin experienced a significant increase in value.

According to the data, this investor purchased a total of 44.03 billion FLORK approximately three years ago, spending 1.9 Ethereum. This investor paid approximately $3,941 for these FLORK at the time and has not made any further transactions since. With the subsequent rise in value, the FLORK is now worth approximately $352,000.

However, Lookonchain notes that this address has been inactive for 976 days, with no transactions recorded. This raises the possibility that the investor may have forgotten about their FLORK holdings and profits.

This guy spent 1.9 $ETH ($3,941) on Apr 18, 2023 to buy 44.03B $FLORK.

After holding for over 3 years, it is now worth $352K. 🤯

But this wallet has had no activity for 976 days.

Does he even remember the $FLORK sitting in it?

Check the tokens you bought before and still… pic.twitter.com/e70ZxSxqJY

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) April 22, 2026

*This is not investment advice.

April 22, 2026
Crypto giant GSR launches its first ETF to give investors an easy way to bet on the big 3 tokens

Crypto trading firm GSR has launched its first exchange-traded fund (ETF), entering a fast-growing segment of the digital asset market as investor demand for regulated crypto exposure continues to rise.

The GSR Crypto Core3 ETF, trading under the ticker BESO on Nasdaq, offers exposure to three major cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin , ether (ETH) and solana (SOL). The fund carries a 1% management fee and includes both active portfolio management and the ability to earn staking rewards on eligible assets.

The launch comes as crypto ETFs have gained traction with both retail and institutional investors seeking easier access to digital assets through traditional brokerage accounts. While most U.S.-listed crypto ETFs to date have focused on single assets, particularly bitcoin, some have moved to basket funds, similar to Core3, which bundles multiple tokens into a single product and adjusts allocations on a weekly basis.

GSR said the fund aims to reflect two main themes in crypto markets: bitcoin’s role as a macro asset and the growth of blockchain platforms such as Ethereum and Solana, which support applications like stablecoins and tokenized assets.

“The fund allocates actively across the three assets and rebalances weekly based on research-driven signals designed to pursue additional returns,” GSR said in a press release.

Framework Digital Advisors will serve as the fund’s investment adviser.

The move expands GSR’s business beyond trading and market making into asset management.

The firm has spent more than a decade providing liquidity and over-the-counter trading services in crypto markets and is now looking to package that expertise into investment products.

The ETF also introduces staking rewards, a feature not commonly available in traditional investment vehicles but one that has been added to some existing crypto ETFs, including the largest, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT). This feature the fund to generate yield from certain blockchain networks while holding assets.

“GSR has spent over a decade building efficient crypto markets, and with Core3, we are extending that expertise into a product accessible to a broader range of investors,” GSR CEO Xin Song said.

April 22, 2026
‘Heartstopper’ Finale Movie Sets Release Date

Netflix has set a release date for the Heartstopper finale. The franchise will wrap when feature film Heartstopper Forever releases on July 17.

The send-off movie will stand in for the fourth season of the LGBTQ+ coming-of-age series that stars Kit Connor and Joe Jocke, and is based on series creator Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper book series.

The film, dated by Netflix on the fourth anniversary of the first season’s release, will follow an inseparable couple as they confront the challenges of a long-distance relationship as Nick (Connor) prepares for university and Charlie (Jocke) gains independence at school.

“Doubts take hold, and their relationship faces its biggest challenge yet. Meanwhile, their friends are also navigating the ups and downs of love and friendship, confronting the bittersweet challenges of growing up and moving on. Can first loves really last forever?” reads the synopsis from Netflix.

The streamer also released a video montage of the Heartstopper cast through their first three seasons of the popular drama, along with a new behind-the-scene image on set.

The ensemble cast for the movie supporting Nick and Charlie as they continue their journey to becoming young adults includes William Gao, Yasmin Finney, Corinna Brown, Kizzy Edgell, Tobie Donovan, Jenny Walser, Rhea Norwood and Leila Khan.

The Heartstopper YA romance franchise, also written by graphic novelist Oseman, debuted in 2022. On the Netflix Tudum site, Oseman expanded on the storyline behind the wrap film: “The movie will be an exploration of time, memory, love, pain, the changing of the seasons, endings and beginnings, and the core element of Heartstopper: the ordinary magic of our everyday lives.”

The final film from See-Saw Films is directed by Wash Westmoreland from a script by Oseman. The executive producer credits are shared by Patrick Walters, Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Oseman, Euros Lyn, Locke and Connor.

April 22, 2026
‘Heated Rivalry’ Author Rachel Reid to Receive The Hollywood Reporter’s Women in Entertainment Canada Honor

Heated Rivalry author Rachel Reid is set to be honored at The Hollywood Reporter’s Women in Entertainment Canada gala and summit on May 28.

Reid will receive the Changemaker Award at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Toronto, while also participating in a feature interview on stage. She is best known for penning the Heated Rivalry book series that has been adapted into the popular Crave and HBO Max romance drama about gay hockey players.

“By championing new perspectives, elevating underrepresented voices and pushing boundaries through storytelling, Reid has helped to shape a more dynamic and forward-looking entertainment landscape,” the WIE Canada event organizers said in a statement on Wednesday.

Reid receiving the Changemaker honor is fitting as Heated Rivalry is part of the book author’s Game Changer series, which follows the steamy romance between Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, played in the Heated Rivalry drama by Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie, respectively.

Heated Rivalry season two will be released next year, and Reid will publish her seventh book, Unrivaled, in the Game Changers series in June 2027.

The upcoming third annual WIE Canada summit will again bring together the Canadian industry across TV, film and music to celebrate and recognize the achievements of women leading the industry forward. The all-day event is attended by top homegrown producers, actors, musicians and execs.

Reid joins earlier announced honorees Andrea Martin, Malin Akerman and Alethea Arnaquq-Baril and Stacey Aglok MacDonald. Additional honorees and speakers will be announced in the coming weeks.

April 22, 2026
Coinbase Flags Proof-of-Stake Chains Like Ethereum, Solana as Potential Quantum Risks
In brief

A Coinbase advisory report says proof-of-stake blockchains may face additional exposure to quantum attacks because validator signatures secure the network.

Wallet cryptography used to prove ownership of crypto is another long-term vulnerability.

The report says current quantum computers cannot break modern cryptography, but urges the industry to begin preparing.
Proof-of-stake blockchains could face greater exposure to future quantum computing attacks because the validator signatures used to secure those networks rely on cryptography that a powerful enough quantum computer could eventually break, according to a report released by cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase.

Released Tuesday by Coinbase’s Independent Advisory Board on Quantum Computing and Blockchain, the report examines how advances in quantum computing could affect digital asset security.

“The right time to prepare for a cryptographic transition is before it becomes urgent,” a Coinbase Advisory Board spokesperson told Decrypt. “Our view is that customer assets are safe today, but the industry should not confuse ‘not imminent’ with ‘not important.’”

Proof-of-stake networks like Ethereum and Solana rely on cryptographic signatures—BLS signatures for Ethereum validators and Ed25519 signatures for Solana validators and users—to help the network agree on blocks and maintain consensus.

“Proof-of-stake chains have exposure in the signature schemes that validators use to secure the network,” the advisory board said. “That means the challenge for proof-of-stake isn’t just upgrading wallets; parts of the core consensus mechanism itself may need to be redesigned.”

The report pointed to recent work by Ethereum developers, including a proposal by co-founder Vitalik Buterin in February to replace BLS validator signatures, KZG commitments, and ECDSA wallet signatures with quantum-resistant alternatives.

Launched in January, Coinbase’s Independent Advisory Board on Quantum Computing and Blockchain brings together academic and industry experts to study how advances in quantum computing could affect blockchain security and to outline long-term solutions. The council includes researchers from Stanford University, the University of Texas at Austin, the Ethereum Foundation, Eigen Labs, Bar-Ilan University, and the University of California, Santa Barbara.

The council also identified digital signatures used by crypto wallets as another major long-term vulnerability. These signatures prove ownership of cryptocurrency and authorize transactions. If broken, attackers could impersonate wallet owners and move their funds. Wallets where public keys are visible on-chain are considered the most exposed. The report estimates that about 6.9 million Bitcoin fall into that category.

The report says current cryptocurrency systems remain secure because quantum computers capable of breaking modern cryptographic signatures do not yet exist. Machines capable of doing so would need to be far more powerful than today’s quantum systems.

While much of the quantum threat discussion has focused on Bitcoin, the council said the network’s core infrastructure—including its mining process, hash functions, and historical ledger—is not considered meaningfully vulnerable under current understanding.

“A quantum computer running Grover’s algorithm could, in theory, solve the proof-of-work challenge faster than a classical computer,” the advisory board said. “However, at the scale of current proof-of-work puzzles, the overhead required to run Grover’s algorithm on a quantum computer outweighs its theoretical advantage.”

Experts warn that moving blockchains to quantum-resistant cryptography presents technical challenges due to quantum-safe signatures being significantly larger than current ones, which could affect transaction speed, storage, and costs.

“The prudent thing to do is to prepare Bitcoin and give people the option to migrate their keys to a quantum-ready format,” Blockstream CEO Adam Back told Bloomberg in a recent interview. “The longer time that Bitcoin users have in order to migrate their keys for custodians and exchanges to move their coins to a quantum-ready format, the safer it will be.”

The report also raises the question of how networks should handle wallets that never upgrade. Lost keys, inactive accounts, and abandoned wallets mean some assets could remain exposed if quantum attacks become possible.

“A cryptographically relevant quantum computer would still require a major leap from today’s systems, but upgrading wallets, exchanges, custodians, and decentralized networks is a multi-year effort,” the advisory board said. “That’s why we wanted to publish now: to ground the conversation in science rather than hype, outline what is actually at risk, and help the industry start making practical migration decisions early.”

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April 22, 2026
Shania Twain to Host ACM Awards for First Time

Country-pop crossover superstar Shania Twain will host the ACM Awards in May, the Academy of Country Music and Dick Clark Productions announced Wednesday. It will mark Twain’s first time as host.

“I’m thrilled to be hosting the 61st ACM Awards in Las Vegas, a place that feels like home,” Twain said in a statement. “It’s such an honor to be part of this incredible night celebrating country music’s biggest stars, especially with so many talented women leading nominations this year. I can’t wait to welcome all of the fans and artists out for this unforgettable night.”

The dominance by women artists referred to in Twain’s statement is seen in Megan Moroney leading the pack of nominees with nine nods, followed closely by Miranda Lambert with eight and Ella Langley and Lainey Wilson with seven each. Chris Stapleton has six nominations, Zach Top earned five, and Riley Green and Cody Johnson are tied with four.

The show takes place May 17 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and will be seen live across all time zones on Prime Video, the Amazon Music app and Amazon Music’s Twitch channel.

Performers announced so far for the show include Wilson, Lambert, Kacey Musgraves, Johnson, Green and Little Big Town.

“We are honored to welcome global music superstar Shania Twain as our host this year,” ACM CEO Damon Whiteside said. “We couldn’t imagine a more perfect icon to follow our previous iconic hosts, Dolly, Garth and Reba, blending one of the most important nights in country music with the excitement of Las Vegas. Shania has an impressive history on the ACM Awards stage, including her win of the coveted ACM Entertainer of the Year trophy and receiving the ACM Poet’s Award honoring her prolific songwriting career.”

Reba McEntire hosted the program the previous two years and in total had performed the duty 18 times. Parton and Brooks co-hosted the year before that, in 2023. This year also marks a break as far moving from the Ford Center at the Star in Frisco, Texas back to the show’s more traditional Las Vegas base.

Twain was named the ACMs’ entertainer of the year in 2000 and won the honorary Poet’s Award in 2023.

April 22, 2026
Bill Nye Warns Trump That Cutting NASA Budget by 23% Is a ‘Huge Mistake’: ‘The Word Science Is in the Constitution. That’s What Keeps the U.S. Ahead’

Bill Nye told NBC News that Donald Trump is making a “huge mistake” when it comes to a proposal to cut NASA’s budget by 23%, which was announced earlier this month amid national attention around NASA‘s Artemis II flyby moon mission.

“NASA is the best brand the U.S. has. People around the world recognize NASA,” Nye said. “The word science is in the Constitution. That’s what keeps the U.S. ahead. You cannot be a leader in space without being a leader in science. It’s just a mistake.”

The Trump administration previously tried to cut NASA’s $24.4 billion budget by 18% but was blocked by members of Congress, which approved the NASA budget in January. Nye said the first attempt was “dead on arrival” and “why it’s happened again is not clear,” although the timing around the Artemis II mission is suspicious.

“Objectively, this time, the President’s Budget Request is written — how would I describe — it’s much lazier… There are typos; they refer to 2026 instead of 2027, and they left out some language arbitrarily. It’s sort of cut and paste without paying attention,” Nye added about the new budget cut proposal.

Artemis II astronauts Jeremy Hansen, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch set out on a 10-day mission around the moon earlier this month on NASA’s Orion spacecraft. The mission marked the furthest any space crew had traveled away from Earth and generated global headlines around the U.S. space program. Hollywood even joined the media blitz as “Project Hail Mary” star Ryan Gosling recorded a video message for the astronauts before they blasted off.

“We were all really lucky. We got to watch ‘Hail Mary’ when we were in quarantine [before launch],” Hansen later revealed when asked about what message he would give Gosling. “That was a real treat that they sent us a link to view that at home with our families, getting us ready to go on our own space adventure. I would just say to Ryan, art imitates science and vice versa, it seems. He did a great job in that movie. It’s wonderful to see people really leaning into those roles.”

Watch Nye’s interview with NBC news in the video below.

April 22, 2026