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The Internal Revenue Service issued a rare apology to billionaire investor Ken Griffin over the leak of his tax returns to the press.

The apology follows the Monday settlement of a lawsuit the Citadel CEO filed against the IRS in 2022, alleging that an employee at the agency illegally leaked his tax returns to the news site ProPublica.

In 2021, ProPublica also published other billionaires’ tax information, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and real estate mogul Stephen Ross, in a 2021 series called “The Secret IRS Files.”

The IRS employee in question — government contractor Charles Littlejohn — also leaked the confidential tax returns of thousands of other wealthy Americans to the New York Times.

The former government contractor was sentenced to five years in prison in January after he pleaded guilty to unauthorized disclosure of tax returns.

“The IRS takes its responsibilities seriously and acknowledges that it failed to prevent Mr. Littlejohns criminal conduct and unlawful disclosure of Mr. Griffins confidential data,” the IRS said in a statement.

“Accordingly, the IRS assures Mr. Griffin and the other victims of Mr. Littlejohns actions that it has made substantial investments in its data security to strengthen its safeguarding of taxpayer information.”

Littlejohn accessed the tax data through an IRS database and uploaded it to a private website to avoid the agency barrier preventing large downloads. He passed former president Donald Trump’s tax information to the New York Times and passed others’ information, including Griffin’s, to ProPublica.

“He violated the terms of his contract and betrayed the trust that the American people place in the IRS to safeguard their sensitive information,” the IRS said in a statement.

The billionaire’s lawyer, William A. Burck of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP, said the lawsuit came after years of stonewalling.

“Although the IRS has acknowledged its failures, apologized to the thousands of Americans who were victimized, and has promised to protect taxpayer information in the future, it is important that all of us hold it accountable to satisfy that promise,” Burck told the Post in a statement. 

“I am grateful to my team for securing an outcome that will better protect American taxpayers and that will ultimately benefit all Americans,” Griffin said in a statement to multiple news outlets, including CBS and FOX, Tuesday.

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Science

Earth’s Oceans Enter Danger Zone Due to Rising Acidification, New Study Warns

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June 15, 2025

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Earth’s Oceans Enter Danger Zone Due to Rising Acidification, New Study Warns

The oceans of Earth are in worse condition than it was, thought, said the scientists. This is because of the increased acidity levels that led the sea to enter the danger zone five years ago. As per the new study, oceans are more acidic by releasing carbon dioxide from industrial activities such as fossil fuel burning. This acidification of the oceans damages marine life and the ecosystem, in turn threatening the coastal human communities that are dependent on healthy waters for their life.

Oceans May Have Crossed the Danger Zone in 2020

In the study published on Monday, June 9, 2025, in the journal Global Change Biology, researchers have found that acidification is highly advanced tha it was considered in the previous years. Our oceans might have entered the danger zone in the year 2020. Previous research suggested that the oceans of Earth were approaching a danger zone for ocean acidification.

How Ocean Acidification Happens

Ocean acidification is driven by the absorption of ocean of excess CO2 into the ocean, which is rapidly contributing to the global crisis. CO2 dissolves in seawater, forming carbonic acid, lowering pH levels and invading the vital carbonate ions. This threatens the species in the water, such as corals and shellfish, which depend on calcium carbonate to build their skeletons and shells.

The Planetary Boundary May Be Breached

Recent research depicts that the ocean acidification levels may now be breached, crossing the previous estimate of a 19% aragonite decline from the previous industrial levels. Scientists are alarmed that this change could destabilise the ecosystems of marine and, in turn, the coastal economies. This is a ticking bomb with socioeconomic and environmental consequences.

Global Consequences of Acidification

The recent findings suggest that scientists have feared in the past. Ocean acidification has reached dangerous levels, exceeding the limit that is needed to maintain a healthy and stable environment. As critical habitats degrade, the rippling effects are expected to cause harm to biodiversity, impact food security for many of the people who depend on the oceans for their livelihood.

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Science

NASA Chandra Spots Distant X-Ray Jet; Telescope Faces Major Budget Cuts

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June 15, 2025

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NASA Chandra Spots Distant X-Ray Jet; Telescope Faces Major Budget Cuts

NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory has detected an enormous X-ray jet from quasar J1610+1811, observed at a distance of about 11.6 billion light-years (roughly 3 billion years after the Big Bang). The jet spans over 300,000 light-years and carries particles moving at roughly 92–98% of the speed of light. It is visible in X-rays because high-energy electrons in the jet collide with the much denser cosmic microwave background at that epoch, boosting microwave photons into X-ray energies. These results were presented at the 246th AAS meeting and accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal.

Discovery of the Distant X-ray Jet

According to the study, Chandra’s high-resolution X-ray imaging, combined with radio data, allowed the team to isolate the jet at such a great distance. At the quasar’s distance (about 3 billion years after the Big Bang), the cosmic microwave background was much denser. As a result, relativistic electrons in the jet efficiently scatter CMB photons to X-ray energies. From the multiwavelength data the researchers infer that the jet’s particles are moving at roughly 0.92–0.98 c. Such near-light-speed outflows are among the fastest known.

These powerful jets carry enormous energy into intergalactic space and provide a unique probe of how black holes influenced their surroundings during the universe’s early “cosmic noon” era.

Chandra’s Future at Risk

However, the Chandra mission now faces possible defunding: NASA’s proposed budget calls for drastic cuts to its operating funds. For nearly 25 years, Chandra has been a cornerstone of X-ray astronomy, so its loss would constitute a major setback. The SaveChandra campaign warns that losing Chandra would be an “extinction-level event” for U.S. X-ray astronomy. Scientists warn that ending Chandra prematurely would cripple X-ray science.

Andrew Fabian commented Science magazine, “I’m horrified by the prospect of Chandra being shut down prematurely”. Elisa Costantini added in an interview with Science that if cuts proceed, “you will lose a whole generation ” and it will leave “a hole in our knowledge” of high-energy astrophysics. Without Chandra’s capabilities, many studies of the energetic universe would no longer be possible.

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Politics

Vietnam legalizes crypto under new digital technology law

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4 hours ago

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June 15, 2025

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Vietnam legalizes crypto under new digital technology law

Vietnam legalizes crypto under new digital technology law

Vietnam has passed a sweeping digital technology law that legalizes crypto assets and outlines incentives for AI, semiconductors, and infrastructure.

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