The gardens are showing that a beautiful landscape is still possible, even in a dry year, with a little strategy and the right plants.

"Probably a quarter of our gardens are not watered at all," said Panayoti Kelaidis, senior curator at Denver Botanic Gardens. "When you plant things, you don't necessarily have to soak your whole garden. You can spot water where you've just planted."

As much of Colorado faces drought conditions and limited outdoor water use, many homeowners are questioning what, if anything, is worth planting this spring. Kelaidis said choosing plants adapted to Colorado's climate can make all the difference.

Cacti and other water‑efficient plants are one obvious option. "If you plant a cactus, you don't have to water it," Kelaidis said.

But water‑wise gardening doesn't have to mean sacrificing greenery or beauty. Throughout the gardens, there are examples of plants with full foliage that thrive without heavy irrigation.

"If you look here, there's beautiful foliage everywhere," Kelaidis said.

For gardeners hesitant to embrace a desert aesthetic, Kelaidis said there's no reason to avoid planting much of what you like in your gardens.

"There's absolutely no reason why you can't plant many plants in a drought year because they're drought‑adapted," he said.

What experts caution against is making big landscape changes that require heavy watering to establish, particularly lawn conversion projects.

In Golden, park managers are encouraging patience when it comes to turf.

"Doing any kind of landscape conversion does require a significant amount of establishment watering," Stansfield said. "For that reason, we would not recommend doing any sort of turf conversion heading into the spring."

Instead, officials are allowing city grasses to remain dormant as long as possible and suggesting homeowners do the same. Brown lawns, experts say, are not dead lawns.

"Forcing your turf into dormancy, or even not that extreme, is not going to kill it," Stansfield said. "It's just going to be one year where it doesn't look super lush and green."

There may even be a benefit to letting grass go dormant. Kelaidis said withholding water from bluegrass can help reduce Japanese beetle populations, which rely on green lawns to survive.

"If you don't water bluegrass, you will kill Japanese beetles," he said. "They only grow and live if they have green grass."

Ultimately, experts say the focus this spring should be on smarter water use rather than abandoning gardens altogether.

"Plants that have evolved in climates like ours, they know," Kelaidis said. "They roll with the punches, and we have to learn to do that too."

Denver is among other Front Range cities like Aurora, Castle Rock, Elizabeth and Thornton that have some sort of watering restrictions in place. Boulder, Fort Collins and Loveland are set to decide soon if they will enact any watering restrictions. 

See more about each municipality's situation in the Denver area and in Northern Colorado below. 

Denver
Denver Water customers are under Stage 1 drought restrictions. Residents are instructed to limit water use outside homes to twice a week. Single-family residential properties are instructed to follow a set schedule based on their address number. Addresses ending with an even number are instructed to water on Sundays and Thursdays. Residents with addresses ending with an odd number are instructed to water Wednesdays and Saturdays. All other customers, including multifamily properties, commercial properties, homeowners associations and government properties, may water only on Tuesdays and Fridays.
Customers must request water at restaurants.
Denver Water's reservoir storage is 80% full, that's compared to 85% full average for this time of year.
The goal of Stage 1 restrictions is to reduce water use by 20% this year, which will help preserve reservoir storage going into 2027.
This declaration marks the fifth time since 2000 that Denver Water has issued a Stage 1 drought, and the first since 2013. Prior to 2013, the board declared a Stage 1 drought in 2002, 2003 and 2004.

Denver Water customers are facing new rates for water usage. The board of Denver Water approved temporary drought pricing on April 8. Customers will be put on a tiered system where the more water that's used, the more money they pay.

Denver water shortage plan: denverwater.org

Arvada
The City of Arvada is limiting lawn watering to two days a week. The schedule is based on the address number of your home. Link: Arvada water shortage plan

Aurora
Aurora City Council approved Stage 1 water restrictions on April 7, effective immediately. 
Aurora's water response plan is similar to that of Denver, with outside watering limited to two days a week. Single-family residential properties with addresses ending in an even number are instructed to irrigate on Thursdays and Sundays. Single-family residential properties with addresses ending in an odd number are permitted to water on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
Aurora Water is asking residents to reduce their outside water consumption by 20%. 
Water at restaurants is only served by request. 
New lawn installations are not allowed. 
No filling of private swimming pools is allowed; however, topping off is allowed.  
Link: Aurora water shortage plan

Thornton
Stage 1 water restrictions - moderate to severe
Residents asked to wait to turn on sprinkler systems until May. Hand watering with a hose before May 1 is permitted. Residents asked to limit turf watering to two days a week.
Thornton drought response plan: thorntonwater.com/restrictions-drought/

Boulder
No water response, yet. City is monitoring conditions in watershed while managing water resources and reservoirs. City will decide whether to declare a drought and implement water use restrictions around May 1.
Boulder water information: bouldercolorado.gov/services/drought-watch-program

Brighton
Brighton is under Stage 1 drought restrictions and irrigation is limited to two days per week under a specific schedule. The city's Utilities Director Scott Olsen said "we're taking deliberate, proactive steps alongside other Front Range communities." Get more information at brightonco.gov.

Erie
Water Supply Shortage Response Level 4 - Emergency.
All residential sprinklers must stay off through the end of March. Parks and Recreation cease irrigation with exception to trees and priority athletic fields. Irrigation may also be prohibited with exception to trees. City hopes to reduce water use by 45%.
Erie drought information: erieco.gov/drought & erieco.gov/drought#docaccess...

Fort Collins-Loveland
No mandatory restrictions. Water district recommends residents are conservative with water use, don't water lawns more than three days a week. Fort Collins- Loveland drought Information: fclwd.com

Highlands Ranch

Watering restrictions are now in place for Highlands Ranch residents. The goal is to reduce water use by 15-20%. Get more information at highlandsranchwater.org

Lone Tree

Residents in the City of Lone Tree are under watering restrictions due to "historic warm temperatures and low snowpack." This includes residents in the Southgate Water and Sanitation District, the Parker Water and Sanitation District and the Northern Douglas County Water and Sanitation District. Get more information at cityoflonetree.com.

Longmont
No mandatory restrictions. Sustainable Conservation Level - Drought Watch in place.
Residents are encouraged to continue practicing water efficiency and reduce outdoor watering.
Longmont drought information: longmontcolorado.gov/water/

Morrison

Outdoor watering in Morrison is limited to no more than two days per week in the Town of Morrison. Get more information at morrisonco.us.

The order seeking the immediate release from ICE custody of Gurjant Singh came in response to a writ of habeas corpus.

A writ of habeas corpus seeks to determine whether detention is legally justified. It doesn't address the merits of a case (in this case, the asylum claim). It seeks a response to the fundamental question: Does the government have the legal authority to hold this person?

The court also advised Singh that he had the right to seek attorneys' fees from the government under the Equal Access to Justice Act.

In July 2025, the Trump administration dramatically curtailed the ability of those facing deportation to be released from immigration detention by reinterpreting an immigration law from the 1990s.

Immigration attorneys in Colorado and around the country are using habeas corpus petitions because they go to federal courts, which are not under the executive branch's control in the way immigration courts are.

"The case involves an all too familiar fact pattern," the order by U.S. District Senior Judge William J. Martínez states. "Singh is an asylum seeker who first entered the United States in November 2023."

Singh was detained by ICE on Feb. 28, 2026, after being stopped by a state trooper. He had a flat tire, and the government does not dispute that he has no criminal record.

"Singh argues that a bond hearing before an IJ (immigration judge) is an inadequate remedy because it is unlikely to be a fair one. He asserts a long list of reasons why a bond hearing is unlikely to be a fair proceeding. The court shares these same concerns, not the least of which is his averment that IJs "often cite little or no reasoning in determining that noncitizens are a flight risk."

"Recently, this court learned that an IJ declined to release a petitioner on bond for whom it had ordered a bond hearing — in a summary decision that merely stated (the denial) without any citation to specific facts."

"Based on the observations of fellow judges across the country, the court is far from convinced this was an isolated incident. To the contrary, the mounting evidence that bond determination hearings conducted in immigration court have preordained outcomes has become impossible to ignore," Martinez stated in the order.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for Colorado declined to comment on the case. CBS Colorado also reached out to the Department of Justice's Executive Office of Immigration Review, where immigration judges are employed. Those administrative judges are appointed by the attorney general to conduct removal proceedings and decide immigration cases. The EOIR responded saying it "declines to comment on litigation-related matters." 

In a six-minute livestreamed statement from the White House, the first lady for the first time following the Justice Department's release of troves of Epstein records publicly and directly addressed the Epstein matter. The first lady said "now is the time for Congress to act."

"I call on Congress to provide the women who have been victimized by Epstein with a public hearing specifically centered around the survivors," the first lady told a group of gathered reporters at the White House. "Give these victims their opportunity to testify under oath in front of Congress with the power of sworn testimony. Each and every woman should have her day to tell her story in public, if she wishes, and then her testimony should be permanently entered into the congressional record. Then and only then, we will have the truth. Thank you."

The top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, Rep. Robert Garcia of California, called the first lady's remarks "pretty stunning," and said her call for a hearing with the testimony of Epstein survivors is something "that we have been asking for for months and have been told every time that it wasn't possible."

"We certainly welcome and agree with her call to hear directly from the survivors," he told MS NOW shortly after the first lady's remarks. He added, "I think what is important about what the first lady said is that she is being clear that there are still powerful men out there. There are still stories to be told."

President Trump told MS NOW he didn't "know anything about" the first lady's statement before she made it.

It's unclear why the first lady delivered her statement on Thursday, instead of immediately following the release of specific records. Old photos of the Trumps with Epstein and Maxwell have been publicly available, and the Justice Department emails revealed the first lady and Maxwell corresponded at least once over email. 

Melania Trump said Epstein did not introduce her to Donald Trump, and the brief email exchange released in the DOJ records between her and Maxwell was merely a "polite," "casual" reply. 

"I am not Epstein's victim," the first lady said. "Epstein did not introduce me to Donald Trump. I met my husband by chance at a New York City party in 1998. This initial encounter with my husband is documented in detail in my book Melania. The first time I crossed paths with Epstein was in the year 2000 at an event Donald and I attended together. At the time, I had never met Epstein and had no knowledge of his criminal undertakings. Numerous fake images and statements about Epstein and me have been circulating on social media for years now. Be cautious about what you believe. These images and stories are completely false."

"I have never had any knowledge of Epstein's abuse of his victims," she added. "I was never involved in any capacity. I was not a participant. Was never on Epstein's plane. And never visited his private island."

Jane Chick contributed to this report.

The crash happened just before 9 a.m. on Jan. 29 on Interstate 70 about two miles east of the Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnel in Clear Creek County. According to Colorado State Patrol, the plow was driving on the icy highway when the driver lost control and crashed into two cars and then the Sprinter van, sending the van off the side of the highway.

The driver of the van and father of one of the girls on the team, Manny Lorenzana, was killed. Ten people in total were in the van, seven of whom were taken to the hospital by ambulance. Four of those were children, and three were adults. One of the girls was rushed by medical helicopter to a trauma center with critical injuries.

The girls played for the California-based Santa Clarita Lady Flyers team, whose players are typically 11 and 12 years old, but can include some younger players. They had a game scheduled that morning in a tournament run by the Western Girls Hockey League at the Edge Ice Arena in Littleton.

On Thursday, CSP announced that 29-year-old Colton A. Wiedman has been charged with the following:

• Careless driving causing death, a class 1 traffic misdemeanor;
• Four counts of careless driving causing serious bodily injury, a class 1 traffic misdemeanor;
• Three counts of careless driving causing bodily injury, a class 1 traffic misdemeanor;
• Failure to drive in a designated lane a class A traffic infraction.

Because Wiedman has only been charged with misdemeanors and a traffic infraction, he was ticketed the day of the crash and not arrested.

He's due in Clear Creek County Court on May 5 for his arraignment. No attorney information for him was available in court records on Thursday, and no contact information for Wiedman was immediately available through public records.

Digital Passport Program

With the statewide digital passport program, in partnership with the Colorado Tourism Office, participants can "check-in" at sites to earn rewards, badges, and exclusive offers. The program encourages both locals and visitors to explore Colorado's hidden gems, diverse businesses, and rich heritage.

Two new Passport experiences launch on April 15, inviting Coloradans and visitors to explore even more of the state.

Wildlife Passport – Explore wildlife destinations and connect with nature.

Water Adventures Passport – Discover rivers, lakes, and all things water fun.

Stories in the Sky Drone Shows

The Stories in the Sky series aims to bring communities together across Colorado, with nearly 150 shows planned statewide. A drone show at Denver Summit FC on April 25 at DICK'S Sporting Goods Park, will light up the sky following the match, creating a shared moment of celebration for attendees.

Historic Marker Program

The newly launched Historic Marker Program invites communities to help identify and commemorate meaningful places and stories across Colorado. Up to 150 markers will be installed statewide, with round one proposals open through April 15.

Portrait of Colorado at 150

Storytelling efforts continue through Portraits of Colorado at 150, a growing initiative that captures voices from across the state and equips communities with tools to document and share their histories. The team will be at the Arvada Kite Festival on April 12 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., recording stories, connecting with attendees, and sharing ways to get involved.

APRIL EVENTS
The following is a highlight of events happening across Colorado this month. View the full statewide calendar at Am250CO150.org.

Apr 3-19 | Westcliffe – Colorado Byways Photo Exhibit

Apr 4 | Boulder – Motus Playback Theater: Stories of Colorado and Country
Apr 9 | Alamosa – 250 Years Later: Spanish America and U.S. Independence
Apr 11 | Pueblo – Charge Across Colorado Steel City Spin

Apr 12 | Parker – 5280+ Senior Chorales America's Musical Milestones

Apr 16 | Grand Junction – History at High Noon: Edward T. Taylor

Apr 17 | Palisade – Barrel into Spring

Apr 21 | Broomfield – Beer & Horses
Apr 25 | Laporte – Earth Day Scenic & Historic Byway Clean-Up

Apr 29 | Various Locations – Sesquisemiquincentennial Colorado Pint Day

Find other events listed here:  colorado.com/am250-co150-events

Girl on Fire, Empire State of Mind, You Don't Know My Name, No One and many other hits shine on stage. While the songs are considered legendary thanks to Alicia Keys, the cast of Hell's Kitchen helps elevate them to a level which leaves cast members in awe.

"We like to set the benchmark very high, if I may say so myself," said Desmond Sean Ellington, an actor who portrays "Davis" in the musical.

CBS News Colorado saw the show during an exclusive advanced preview in Orlando, Florida. After the performance, many of the stars of the show sat down for interviews.

The cast said they have come to love one another and find themselves continuously in awe of each other's vocal skills.

"We enjoy each other's talent. Each night I still marvel," Ellington said. "To have so much talent on one stage is sometimes heard of."

In many Broadway tours, there's a clear gap in talent between a lead performer and the rest of the cast. That is not the case with Hell's Kitchen. The talent is uniform, with men and women of different generations coming together on stage to provide audiences with what might be the best collective vocal performance they have ever heard from a musical cast.

Kennedy Caughell, the actress who portrays "Jersey" in the show, said that's due, in part, to hand-picked casting by Keys.

"We were each picked by the team and Alicia," Caughill said.

At the show, audience members cheered for the vocal performances. At times, that included men in the audience subtly but vocally expressing their admiration for the skills.

"One thing I picked up on is the men throughout the show giving the little, 'Mmm,' sound when they hear notes being hit," CBS Colorado's Dillon Thomas told the cast.

Cast members like Ellington, Caughell, Roz White and Maya Drake laughed and said they also can hear the same verbal acknowledgements from the audience.

"I can audibly hear men screaming out. That is my favorite sound in the audience. Because a lot of time they get dragged to the theatre by their wife or girlfriend," said Roz White, the actress who portrays "Miss Liza Jane." "I'm like, yes, the men are here."

Hell's Kitchen follows the story of a girl named Ali, who is growing up in New York and finding her love for both boys and music. The story uplifts people from multiple generations by showing that it's never too late to learn from one another and become a better person at any stage in life.

To help share that message across multiple generations, the cast is made up of people of all ages.

"A lot of our cast, this is their first show," Ellington said.

Maya Drake, the lead actress portraying Ali, just graduated from high school. She also shares the stage with 19-year-old Marley Soleil, who portrays "Jessice."

"People who are 19 years old can be on stage, and there is a future for them in this industry," Soleil said.

The cast said they have loved learning from one another and trying to take the theme of mentorship on stage, and applying it off-stage.

"We have some of the most incredible people who do some of the most incredible things. Dancing, singing, acting. We all kind of take from each other on stage," said Gigi Lewis, the actress who portrays "Tiny."

"I think what makes Hell's Kitchen so great is the beautiful symbiosis they have created from the music, to the dancing to the lights to the sound to the set. It explodes off the stage at you. It is an energetic and lively show that I think people of all ages will enjoy," Caughill said.

Hell's Kitchen plays at the Buell Theatre April 14 through the 26. For more information on tickets, click here.

CBS Colorado is a proud partner of the DCPA.

The police department said they were notified about 7 a.m. by Highland School District security staff about a social media post made overnight by a Highland High School student. Investigators said the post referenced the use of explosives against the school. 

Law enforcement said they responded immediately and arrived on campus before students and most staff arrived. Officers secured the building and began a safety sweep. Explosive-detection K9 teams from the Greeley Police Department and the Larimer County Sheriff's Office assisted with the investigation. 

Investigators said over the next three hours, a full visual search of the campus, combined with K9 teams, was conducted and no explosive devices or suspicious items were found. 

The school district said students and parents were notified about the threat. There was a delayed start to the school day. Those students who arrived early, either by bus or before the notification, were directed to a gymnasium in a separate building that had already been searched. 

The school was cleared by 10 a.m. and students were allowed to return to class a short time later. 

The teen was arrested at her home in Pierce and was taken into custody. She faces charges that include interference with staff, faculty or students in educational institutions and false report of explosives, weapons or harmful substances. 

According to the Ault Police Department, no additional identifying information about the suspect will be released since she is a juvenile. 

Ault is located about 12 miles north of Greeley in Northern Colorado. 

The Link on Demand rideshare service will travel around areas including Lone Tree, Highlands Ranch, and select areas of Parker. Many popular areas include:

• Town Center, Village Center, and Highlands Ranch Senior Center in Highlands Ranch
• Park Meadows Retail Resort, Lone Tree Rec Center, and Sky Ridge Medical Center in Lone Tree
• Parker AdventHealth Hospital, Downtown and Parker Senior Center, and Twenty Mile/Dransfeldt Shopping Center in Parker
• Littleton Mineral Station
• Safeway Transfer Hub
• Lincoln Station Transfer Hub
• Parker RTD Ride and Share

Booking Link on Demand is similar to booking an Uber or Lyft. It starts by downloading the Link on Demand app. Then you book the ride and meet up with your driver. The only difference is that this ride is free all the time.

Link on Demand is designed to increase mobility, reduce barriers, and support daily travel needs. It helps people who don't own a car or older adults who can't drive, for example. The vehicles are ADA-accessible too, so they help people who use wheelchairs and walkers.

Anyone over the age of 13 can ride the service, so this helps if your child misses the bus or needs a ride. This service does operate corner to corner instead of door to door. This means you might have to travel a short distance to your pickup point. Your phone will show you the availability.

This is a Monday through Saturday rideshare service. The hours of operation include:

• Monday to Thursday, 7 a.m. through 7 p.m.
• Friday from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
• Saturday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Highlands Ranch and Parker are non-adjacent zones, so you'll book a two‑leg trip via a Transfer Hub. Here's how:

1. In the Link On Demand app, book your first on‑demand ride:

• From Highlands Ranch to Lincoln Station Transfer Hub or Safeway Transfer Hub, or
• From Parker to Lincoln Station Transfer Hub or Safeway Transfer Hub.

2. Ride to the Transfer Hub.

3. After you're dropped off at the Transfer Hub, open the app and request your second on‑demand ride, from the Transfer Hub to your final destination in the other zone.

4. Wait at the Transfer Hub until your next van arrives. Typical wait times are 15-30 minutes.

If you have any questions, all information can be found here.

Through its Grass Replacement Incentive Program, or GRIP, Aurora Water is paying residents to replace traditional turf and replace it with more sustainable landscaping.

"The ubiquitous water-guzzling grass is Kentucky bluegrass," said Diana Denwood, Aurora Water's conservation supervisor.

She says that type of grass requires about 28 inches of additional water each year beyond natural rainfall to survive.

By comparison, water-wise landscapes, made up of native plants, shrubs and mulch, can cut water use dramatically, sometimes requiring little to no supplemental watering.

To encourage that shift, Aurora is offering rebates through GRIP:

• Up to $3 per square foot for traditional water-wise landscaping
• 50 cents per square foot for native, low-water grass

Denwood says one common misconception is that the most water-conscious option is to cover a yard entirely in rock or artificial materials, often called "Xeriscaping." But she warns that that approach can actually create new problems.

"It contributes to the urban heat islands. We don't want to see a landscape that's devoid of plants and has a heat-absorbing rock, or even worse, potentially rubber," Denwood says.

The GRIP program is designed to help offset the cost of replacing turf with drought-tolerant alternatives that are also lower maintenance and better suited for Colorado's climate.

Projects must be approved before installation and rebates are paid after completion.

Switching landscapes still requires water upfront.

Denwood says new native or water-wise grass requires an establishment period of about four weeks, when it needs more frequent watering to take root.  After that, the difference is significant.

"Just like any kind of turf grass during a normal year, we do a permit. Now this year, because we're in drought Stage 1, you're not allowed to do a Kentucky bluegrass lawn, so we're not issuing permits for that," said Denwood. "But we will still absolutely issue a permit for doing a native or water-wise grass, and we're really happy to see people do that."

City officials say participation is picking up as restrictions take hold.

"We're getting about five new applications a day," Denwood said. "That's a significant increase compared to this time last year."

Still, funding is limited, and not every project gets completed.

At Nick's Garden Center, the change is already showing up in what customers are buying.

"I was lucky if I could sell a yucca to someone 20 years ago…now I show them a yucca, and they're down," said horticulturist Colette Haskell.

Haskell says more customers are coming in, specifically asking for drought-tolerant plants, often with city-provided lists in hand.

"We get customer after customer saying, 'I don't know what this plant is, can you show me?'"

Even as demand for water-wise plants grows, traditional lawns aren't disappearing overnight.

Haskell says some customers are still buying Kentucky bluegrass, despite restrictions and rising temperatures.

The city offers support, including a landscape design program, in-person and online classes, the GRIP Manual and staff ready to answer your questions.

For more information about GRIP, visit auroragov.org.

A government official familiar with the matter said the probe is about affordability for consumers and creating an "even playing field for providers." The Wall Street Journal first reported that the DOJ opened an investigation into the NFL. 

The NFL said in a statement that its media distribution model is the "most fan and broadcaster-friendly in the entire sports and entertainment industry," and noted that 87% of its games are available on broadcast television, "including 100% of games in the markets of the competing teams." 

"The 2025 season was our most viewed since 1989 and reflects the strength of the NFL distribution model and its wide availability to all fans," the NFL said. 

The investigation comes as the NFL has reopened negotiations with Paramount Skydance, the parent company of CBS News, which owns the rights to broadcast NFL games on Sunday afternoons during the season. Exercising a clause in the existing TV rights contracts that allows the league to reopen a media rights deal if a partner broadcaster is purchased by a new owner, CNBC reports the NFL is seeking as much as $1 billion more per season from Paramount Skydance  so the network can continue broadcasting games through the 2033-34 season.

NFL broadcasters, most notably Fox, have voiced concerns the NFL is spreading its games across too many streaming services and could make watching games prohibitively expensive — and confusing — for football fans. A recent editorial by The Wall Street Journal, also owned by Fox's owner Rupert Murdoch, argued the league might be violating its antitrust exemptions by spreading out its content across so many platforms. 

Republican Sen. Mike Lee, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights, said he's "glad they're tackling this." 

"In 1961, Congress enacted the Sports Broadcasting Act, granting limited antitrust immunity to allow professional football teams to collectively license the 'sponsored telecasts' of their games to national broadcast networks," Lee said. "... To the extent collectively licensed game packages are placed behind subscription paywalls, these arrangements may no longer align with the statutory concept of sponsored telecasting or the consumer-access rationale underlying the antitrust exemption."

According to the endowment's spending plan approved by the Office of Management and Budget in September, $2 million in special initiative funds and $13 million in matching funds "are reserved for the arch." NEH, an independent federal agency, often funds projects through a combination of federal dollars and matching private contributions. NOTUS first reported that taxpayer funds are expected to be used for the arch. 

It's not yet clear what private funds may go toward Independence Arch, though the president previously indicated that leftover private funds from his White House ballroom addition could be used. The White House has not yet disclosed an estimated cost for the arch. The president has said the massive ballroom he's building at the White House at a cost of $300 million to $400 million will be funded entirely by private donors, in contrast to the arch.

OMB and NEH did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

The president says the arch will commemorate the nation's 250th anniversary, and he's previously displayed a model in the Oval Office. The renderings and model show an arc resembling France's Arc de Triomphe sitting across from the Lincoln Memorial on the Virginia side of the Potomac River by Washington, D.C. The president said he wants the arch to be the "biggest one of all" in the world, even though the proposed site is situated along a flight path for nearby Reagan National Airport. 

"It's the only city in the world that's of great importance that doesn't have a triumphal arc," the president said in December. "... And this one is going to blow them all away. The one that people know mostly is the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France. And we're going to top it by I think a lot."

When CBS News' Ed O'Keefe asked the president in October whom the arch is for, he responded, "Me. Going to be beautiful." After the president said the arch was for him, some nicknamed it the "Arc de Trump." 

Investigators said the scam works like this: the individuals approach shoppers and ask for donations for youth trips or funerals. When the victim agrees, the scammers overcharge the credit card using the mobile card reader, entering a "significantly higher amount than you authorized."

Investigators are asking for information about the following suspects: Three males, 25-35 years old, approx. 6-foot to 6-foot-1, with long dreadlocks. They were claiming to be selling candy for a "Boys and Girls Club" trip or raising money for a nephew's funeral.

Detectives with the Douglas County Sheriff's Office are advising people:

• Legitimate charities rarely solicit in parking lots without official store approval
• Double check- always look at the total on any card reader screen before you tap, swipe, or chip
• Report: If approached by suspicious solicitors, notify store management immediately or call our non-emergency line at 303-660-7500

People with information about the charity scam are urged to contact Metro Denver Crimestoppers at 720-913-STOP (7867), reference case number 2025-67962.

The Consumer Price Index this week is expected to show March prices rose at a 3.3% annual pace, the average of six separate forecasts reviewed by CBS News. That would mark the highest inflation rate since May 2024 and an almost 1 percentage-point jump from February.

The CPI report will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET on Friday. 

"The impact of the war on energy prices will push headline CPI inflation well above 3% in March and above 4% by April," Oxford Economics forecast in a report on Wednesday.

Inflationary pressures are being driven by higher energy prices tied to the Iran war, with the U.S. experiencing the largest one-month jump in fuel costs since at least 1957, according to Pantheon Economics. 

The conflict's impact on a wide range of goods and services is likely to last for months, and experts said the two-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran is unlikely to immediately ease global energy shortages.

Higher fuel prices could push up the cost of other goods, including food, because of increased transportation and production costs. Energy prices tend to rise quickly during disruptions to oil supplies but fall more slowly after a crisis ends — a phenomenon economists call the "rockets and feathers" principle.

Early-year cooldown

"We're going to be paying the price for this through much of the year," Mark Zandi, chief economist at financial research firm Moody's Analytics, told CBS News. "We should see a bit of a bump in the cost of airline tickets. Grocery prices will probably be a bit higher. Obviously, that goes to transporting food from the port or the farm to the store shelf."

The expected increase in the CPI comes after inflation cooled to a 2.4% annual rate in the first two months of 2026 — still above the Federal Reserve's 2% target but far below the 40-year high of 9.1% recorded in June 2022.

On Thursday, another key measure of inflation signaled that everyday costs were elevated in February even before the Iran war, rising 0.4% from January. The Personal Consumption Expenditures price index also showed that consumer spending rose 0.5% in February from the prior month, but that falls to 0.1% when adjusted for inflation, according to EY-Parthenon chief economist Greg Daco. 

"Make no mistake, households are increasingly running on fumes," Daco wrote in a report.

Even before the Iran war sent gas prices soaring, many Americans were still recovering from the pandemic-era inflation spike and continued to cite affordability as a major concern. The Trump administration has said that "gas prices will plummet back to the multi-year lows American drivers enjoyed before these short-term disruptions" from the Iran war.

After the U.S. announced the truce with Iran on Tuesday,  the U.S. oil benchmark tumbled almost 15%, falling to $96.41 a barrel. But that remains 43% higher than just before the war, signaling consumers may not see much relief in the next few weeks.

Consumers have already paid an additional $8.4 billion in fuel costs in the month after the Iran war started, according to an estimate from the Joint Economic Committee's Democratic minority. Higher prices for other goods and services, from airline fees to higher mortgage rates, could also weigh on household finances. 

Rising prices could pressure household budgets and derail consumer spending if Americans pull back on discretionary purchases, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Austan Goolsbee told CBS News earlier this month. Because consumer spending accounts for about 70 cents of every $1 of GDP, a hit to household finances could ripple through the economy.

"It adds up"

Even before the Iran war, some consumers were showing signs of financial distress, said Elizabeth Pancotti, managing director of policy and advocacy at Groundwork Collaborative, a left-leaning think tank. Hardship withdrawals from 401(k)s reached a record last year, while loan delinquency rates even among higher-income households rose in 2025.

"We had started to see credit delinquencies increase. We had started to see savings rates go down. We have seen wage growth really stagnate," Pancotti told CBS News. "If you pile on to that, I think you go from flashing warning signs to major flashing alarm bells."

Businesses are also feeling the impact of higher energy prices, as well as disruptions to other key supplies shipped through the Strait of Hormuz. While about 20% of global energy supplies travel through the vital waterway, other commodities — including helium, aluminum and fertilizer — also pass through the strait.

"Every single thing going in and out of a ranch comes in on freight, and so when freight costs are up, shipping cattle goes up, shipping feed goes up," said Andrew Coppin, CEO of Ranchbot, a Fort Worth, Texas-based company that sells water-monitoring technology to ranchers. "And now you've got a dearth of fertilizer availability, and the cost of fertilizer is going up."

The average rancher drives about 1,000 miles a week to check on their cattle, Coppin noted. "It adds up, and at a time when they just didn't need it," he said, adding that he expects the price of beef to rise this year due to the higher costs facing ranchers.

What's up with interest rates?

Consumers and businesses may not get a break on borrowing costs any time soon. The Federal Reserve will need to grapple with higher inflation, as well as a labor market that has swung from monthly job losses to gains over the past year.

In March, the Fed had penciled in one interest rate cut for 2026, but the expectation of higher inflation this year has caused many economists to scrub that cut from their forecasts. 

"The Federal Reserve is on a prolonged pause until the fog of war clears and they can assess the full impacts on the U.S. economy," said Heather Long, chief economist at the Navy Federal Credit Union, in an email.

Minutes released Wednesday of the Fed's March 17-18 meeting, where it held borrowing costs steady, also suggest that some policymakers on the central bank's 19-member interest-rate setting panel think it may become necessary to consider a future rate hike. 

If there's one bright spot on inflation, it's that the impact of the Trump administration's tariffs has waned, with the effective tariff rate now at about 8%. That's down from a peak of 21% in April 2025, when the president first announced his wide-ranging tariffs, according to the Yale Budget Lab. 

The impact of higher import costs is now waning, Bernard Yaros. lead U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, told CBS News. "Most of the tariff pass-through has occurred."

Health officials said both people are household contacts of a previously confirmed case that is not linked to the Broomfield schools outbreak. However, officials said they are notifying the public about a potential exposure location in El Paso County related to those cases. Health officials told CBS Colorado last month that the outbreak at the schools had forced 80 students, staff and volunteers to stay away from the campuses due to their vaccination status.   

CDPHE said the known exposure location is the Chick-fil-A at the Citadel Crossing Shopping Center located at 505 N. Academy Blvd. in Colorado Springs, March 25 between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. Symptoms may occur through April 15. 

CDPHE said while the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine is highly effective, breakthrough cases can occur, especially following prolonged exposure within a household. Breakthrough cases typically experience milder illness and are less likely to spread the virus to others.

Measles is a highly contagious disease. Getting the MMR vaccine is the best way to protect yourself, your family, and your community. 

Additional Information from the CDPHE:

What to do if you were exposed

• Watch for symptoms: Measles symptoms begin with fever, cough, runny nose, and red eyes, followed by a rash that usually starts several days later on the face and spreads. If you were at the location at the listed date and time, you may have been exposed. Watch for symptoms for 21 days after exposure. Monitoring for symptoms is especially critical for people who have not been vaccinated with the MMR vaccine, particularly infants under one year of age who are not routinely recommended for the vaccine. If you develop symptoms, call CDPHE (720-653-3369) or your local public health agency right away. 
• Call before you go: If you need medical care, do not delay. Call your health care provider, urgent care, or emergency department before going in, and tell them you may have been exposed to measles. This helps prevent further spread. 

More information

Visit the CDPHE measles webpage, which includes information about symptoms, transmission, and vaccine recommendations, 2026 Colorado measles case information, and a current list of exposure locations.

"The United States Postal Service is heading toward a cash crisis," USPS spokesman David Walton said in a statement to CBS News. "The step we are now taking to suspend FERS payments helps conserve cash for our operations and other necessary payments."

The USPS contributes about $400 million a month to its employee pension plan, the agency said in a statement on Thursday. The postal service said it will continue to send worker contributions to the retirement plan and will also transmit employer automatic and matching contributions, as well as employee contributions to the Thrift Savings Plan, another retirement program for federal workers.

Out of cash in a year

The temporary halt in contributions to the USPS program comes after Postmaster General David Steiner warned Congress last month that the postal agency is heading for a financial crisis without a course correction. Those changes could include raising the cost of a first-class stamp to 95 cents or reducing delivery from its current six days per week schedule to five or fewer, he said. 

Without such changes, Steiner said, the USPS could run out of cash within 12 months, which could result in a stoppage of mail delivery. 

The USPS has for years struggled with high costs and dwindling mail volume, culminating in a $9 billion loss in 2025. Although the Postal Service has a 10-year plan to reduce expenses and restore profitability, the agency still faces major financial challenges as mail volume continues to decline and delivery costs rise.

On Thursday, USPS Chief Financial Officer Luke Grossmann said in a statement that the risk of "insufficient liquidity for postal operations dramatically outweighs any longer-term risk to the pension funds from not making the currently due payments."

Suspending payments to FERS will free up about $2.5 billion in the current fiscal year, the postal agency said. 

The USPS said in March that it plans to temporarily hike postage prices to cover mounting fuel costs due to the Iran war. The agency said it will add an 8% surcharge on some postage prices beginning April 26, with those added costs remaining in place through Jan. 17, 2027.

Not only was it the hottest March on record for the U.S., but the amount it was above normal by beat any other month in history for the Lower 48 states. March's average temperature of 50.85 degrees Fahrenheit was 9.35 degrees above the 20th century normal for March. That easily passed the old record of 8.9 degrees set in March 2012 as the most abnormally hot month on record - regardless of the month of the year - according to records released Wednesday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The average maximum temperature for March was especially high at 11.4 degrees above the 20th century average and was almost a degree warmer than the average daytime high for April, NOAA said.

Scientists' concern growing  

Six of the nation's top 10 most abnormally hot months have been in the last 10 years. This February, which was 6.57 degrees above the 20th century norm, was the tenth highest above normal.

"What we experienced in March across the United States was unprecedented," said Shel Winkley, a meteorologist with Climate Central, a nonprofit science research group.

"One reason that's so concerning is just the sheer volume of records, all-time records that were set and broken during that time period," Winkley said. "But also this is coming on the heels of what was the worst snow year. And the hottest winter on record."

April 2025 to March 2026 was the warmest 12-month period on record in the continental United States, according to NOAA.

On March 20 and 21, about one-third of the nation felt unseasonable heat that would have been virtually impossible without human-caused climate change, Climate Central calculated.

More than 19,800 daily temperature records were broken for heat across the country, according to meteorologist Guy Walton, who analyzes NOAA data. More than 2,000 places set monthly records for heat - harder to break than daily records - Walton calculated. That's more March heat records set just last month than in entire decades in the past.

"Climate change is kicking our butts"  

All those broken records "tells us that climate change is kicking our butts," said meteorologist Jeff Masters of Yale Climate Connections.

"(The) January through March period was the driest on record for the contiguous U.S. So not only was it hot, it was record dry as well," Masters said. "And that's a bad combination for water availability, for agriculture, for river levels, for navigation."

The European climate and weather service Copernicus and NOAA are both forecasting a "super" strong El Niño to form in a few months and intensify into the winter. Meteorologists expect that to increase already warm temperatures across the globe, likely pushing past the hottest year mark set by 2024.

An El Niño is a natural temporary and cyclical warming of parts of the central Pacific that alters weather across the planet. An El Niño is formed when a specific part of the ocean is 0.5 degrees Celsius (0.9 F) warmer than normal. It is considered moderate at 1 degree Celsius and strong at 1.5 degrees Celsius. Both NOAA and the Europeans are forecasting this one to be well above 2 degrees Celsius into an area that is informally called super-sized and perhaps rivaling records set in 2015 and 2016.

An El Niño releases heat stored in the upper ocean into the air, which causes global temperatures to rise, but with a few months lag time, said Northern Illinois University meteorology professor Victor Gensini.

"A strong El Niño could plausibly push global temperatures to new record levels in late 2026 and into 2027," Gensini said.

Super-sized El Niños often trigger a "climate regime shift" that pushes normal conditions into a different pattern for years or decades, according to a study last December in the journal Nature Communications. The study said that after the 2015-2016 El Niño, the Gulf of Mexico jumped to a new sustained level of warmth that may have contributed to stronger hurricanes along the Gulf Coast in the years after.

Growing research seems to indicate that a warming world from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas could be making El Niños stronger, but climate scientists said that's not quite a consensus yet.

"Global warming is supercharging El Niños and the atmospheric warming they drive," said University of Michigan environment dean and climate scientist Jonathan Overpeck. "We saw this in 2016 and more recently in 2023. We're likely to see another jump in global temperatures if a strong El Niño develops later this year as being predicted."

El Niños tend to tamp down hurricane activity in the Atlantic, but ramp it up in the Pacific and could help ease the southwestern drought, Masters said.

During a space-to-ground news conference late Wednesday, Wiseman said crewmates Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen proposed the out-of-this-world memorial when the crew was in medical quarantine a few days before launch.

Wiseman said "that was an emotional moment for me, and I just thought that was just a total treasure." But he said he told his crewmates he wouldn't be able to talk about such an emotionally charged moment during the mission.

So, Hansen stepped in Monday and radioed mission control to describe the selection of a previously unnamed crater in honor of Wiseman's wife Carroll, a nurse who passed away in 2020. Wiseman later said raising his two daughters as a single dad was the greatest challenge of his life.

"When Jeremy spelled Carroll's name, C A R R O L L, I think for me that's when I was overwhelmed with emotion," Wiseman said. "We all pretty much broke down right there. For me personally, that was kind of the pinnacle moment of the mission. That was, I think, where the four of us were the most forged, the most bonded. And we came out of that really focused on that day ahead."

For Glover, the highlight was observing a solar eclipse, watching the sun disappear behind the moon, producing a ghostly glow around the entire moon as viewed from the Orion capsule.

"We saw great simulations made by our lunar science team, but when that actually happened, it just blew us all away," he said. "Launching on April 1 meant the far side (of the moon) wasn't as illuminated as we were hoping. And so (the eclipse) seemed to be a consolation, and it was one of the greatest gifts of that part of the mission."

Wiseman said that to him, it was watching the Earth set on the moon's horizon and disappear from view, leaving the crew out of contact with Earth for about 40 minutes.

"When we watched that Earth eclipse behind the moon, wow, I'm actually getting chills right now," he said. "It is amazing to watch your home planet disappear behind the moon...It was just an unbelievable sight. And then it was gone."

"We had a lot of scientific work to do right there," Wiseman went on. "That was probably the most critical lunar observations for our geology team. But the four of us took a moment. We shared maple cookies that Jeremy had brought, and we took about three or four minutes just as a crew to really reflect on where we were...It is a surreal feeling."

Asked if he was looking forward to re-entry and splashdown Friday, Glover said he's been thinking of that moment ever since he was assigned to the Artemis II crew, considering the 25,000-mph plunge back into the atmosphere and the fireball that will engulf the Orion capsule on the way down.

But, he reminded reporters, "all the good stuff is coming back with us. There (are) so many more pictures, so many more stories. And gosh, I haven't even begun to process what we've been through. We've still got two more days, and riding a fireball through the atmosphere is profound as well. I'm going to be thinking about and talking about all of these things for the rest of my life, for sure."

After the news conference, the crew had planned to take another turn at manually piloting their Orion capsule, testing their ability, as pilots and non-pilots, to precisely maneuver the spacecraft. NASA is considering opening up commander and pilot positions to a wider range of astronauts.

But Wednesday's test, the second to involve all four crew members, was called off to give flight controllers time to troubleshoot a liquid oxygen pressurization issue in the crew ship's service module that cropped up shortly after launch.

Like many spacecraft, Orion uses pressurized helium to force propellants to rocket engines and thrusters. For redundancy, Orion is equipped with two interconnected oxygen "manifolds," either of which can be isolated if problems develop. Only one is needed for normal operations.

Shortly after launch, the pressure in one manifold was higher than expected, so flight controllers closed valves to isolate that part of the system while they reviewed data. The test Wednesday was designed find out if helium was leaking into the oxygen lines of the isolated manifold, thus raising pressure as observed.

Mission managers said earlier the isolated manifold is not needed for the crew's return to Earth. But they wanted to better understand the issue to make sure it doesn't happen on downstream flights.

In the meantime, Navy recovery crews headed to the splashdown site off the southern California coast near San Diego where the Orion capsule is expected to splash down at 8:07 p.m. EDT Friday. Favorable weather is expected with light winds and moderate seas.

Back at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, scientists continued poring over thousands of photographs captured by the astronauts as they passed over the far side of the moon Monday, along with video and recorded audio descriptions of various high-priority targets.

Nine three-man Apollo crews flew over the moon's far side between 1968 and 1972, but those flights were launched when the near side was fully illuminated and the far side was in shadow.

The Artemis II astronauts were the first humans to see, with their own eyes, nearly a quarter of the far side in daylight, giving researchers insights that could lead to a better understanding of the moon's evolution.

So far, NASA's first piloted moon mission since the final Apollo landing in 1972 has gone off like clockwork, with only a small number of anomalies. One of those involved the ship's toilet, which has had problems dumping liquid waste overboard as required.

While an annoyance at times for the crew, it's been a relatively minor issue given the technical challenges of safely flying to the moon and back.

Federal prosecutors allege in a criminal complaint that Courtney Williams of Wagram, North Carolina, divulged classified information to an unnamed reporter between 2022 and 2024 about her time in Delta Force, a U.S. Army Special Military Unit, or SMU.

According to the complaint, Williams worked for the Army between 2010 and 2016 after serving as a contractor and previously enlisting, and held a top secret security clearance. Williams left in 2016, after investigators said she had her access to classified information suspended, "based on an internal investigation" conducted in 2015 and 2016.

She is charged with one count of illegally communicating or transmitting national defense information, which is punishable by up to 10 years in prison if convicted. Court records show she was arrested Tuesday and was ordered to be temporarily detained in jail ahead of a preliminary hearing on April 13. 

According to an FBI affidavit included in the complaint, Williams and the reporter "discussed William's employment at the SMU and associated information" in texts and "consistent and extensive phone conversations." The affidavit also alleges that Williams "provided documents, photographs, notes, and/or other materials to the Journalist, some of which likely contained classified NDI that was subsequently published in the Article and the Book," through a removable hard drive and emails in ten document batches.

Williams was featured prominently in a Politico article as an on-the-record voice in a story profiling alleged misconduct in Delta Force, a covert military unit where Delta Force is headquartered. That article, by Seth Harp, was adapted from his book, which was to be published shortly after the article. Investigators also said the article includes on-the-record statements from Williams about her time with the unit. Photos of Williams also appear in the report.

In a statement posted to social media late Wednesday, Harp described Williams as a "courageous whistleblower who exposed rampant gender discrimination and sexual harassment" in Delta Force.

"I am confident that the DOJ's slapdash indictment, full of misleading juxtaposed quotations taken out of context, will fall apart upon careful scrutiny," Harp said. "In the meantime, Courtney is presumed innocent and is entitled to the due process of the law." 

The FBI affidavit alleges Williams spoke to a reporter on the day the Politico article featuring her was published and says officials overseeing classification of the Special Military Unit "reviewed the information within the Article and determined that it contained information that is properly classified as SECRET."

After the book was published last August, the prosecutors said Williams texted the reporter that she was "concerned with the amount of classified information being disclosed" in the book," and that she wrote in a text message to her mother that she feared being arrested "for disclosing classified information."

In another text message to someone else, prosecutors allege that Williams said she was "probably going to jail for life" for her alleged disclosures.

Williams was appointed a federal defender, but no attorney information was publicly listed in court filings as of Wednesday evening.

In a social media post on X, FBI Director Kash Patel said that William's arrest should "serve as a message to any would-be leakers: we're working these cases, and we're making arrests. This FBI will not tolerate those who seek to betray our country and put Americans in harm's way."

In the order, U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy said the Trump administration terminated the designation "without regard for the process delineated by Congress." 

Under the Biden administration, thousands of Ethiopian immigrants in the country were granted the status beginning in 2022. The designation allows immigrants to temporarily live and work in the U.S. without fear of deportation because of armed conflict, environmental disasters or other humanitarian emergencies in their home country. The status was extended in 2024. 

The Department of Homeland Security announced in December that Ethiopia "no longer met the conditions" for the TPS designation and the protections would terminate on Feb. 13. 

"Fundamental to this case — and indeed to our constitutional system — is the principle that the will of the President does not supersede that of Congress," the judge wrote in Wednesday's order. "Presidential whims do not and cannot supplant agencies' statutory obligations." 

"Yet, in this case, Defendants have disregarded both that foundational principle and the statutory scheme enacted by Congress," he continued. 

"This stay by radical, Biden-appointed Judge Brian Murphy is just the latest example of judicial activists trying to prevent President Trump from restoring integrity to America's legal immigration system," DHS said in a statement provided to CBS News following the ruling. "Temporary means temporary. Country conditions—including armed conflicts—in Ethiopia have improved to the point that it no longer meets the law's requirement for Temporary Protected Status. The Trump administration is putting Americans first."

It's the latest setback on the issue for the Trump administration, which has sought to terminate the designation for 13 countries as part of the president's crackdown on immigration. 

The Supreme Court will hear arguments in late April on the administration's efforts to remove the status of Syrian and Haitian nationals. 

Some popular videos claim they can help repair DNA, offer nerve relief and accelerate wound healing. Others promise shiny hair and lower stress levels. Scroll long enough, and it seems peptides are practically a cure-all. Peptide "stacks" offer customized combinations. "Biohacking" with peptides can allegedly make existing bodily functions work better. Search "peptides" on Instagram and videos of "peptide transformations" and dramatic visual before-and-afters pop up.

But in reality, these types of claims are not backed by reliable data, and the formulas are not guaranteed to be safe. 

Here's what to know about peptides, their safety, and where the viral health claims come from. 

What are peptides? 

Peptides are short strings of amino acids, linked by chemical bonds, CBS News chief medical correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook explained on "CBS Mornings." Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins and do everything from breaking down food to making chemicals in the brain. Peptides can affect the way the body functions at a cellular level, LaPook said. 

The human body naturally produces some peptides, and there are more than 80 peptides approved for use by the Food and Drug Administration. Approved peptides can be found in insulin, skinc are products, and GLP-1 medications such as Ozempic and Wegovy. 

But these aren't the only peptides being referenced online. The ones being credited with healing injuries, slowing aging and more are not FDA-approved, and their claims lack widely accepted scientific evidence like clinical data or human trials.

Dr. Monica Wang, an adjunct associate professor of health policy and management at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said this "marketed for everything" framing "is usually a red flag." 

"In many cases, these products or supplements haven't been FDA-approved," Wang said. "They haven't been rigorously tested in clinical trials. To have specific products being translated into very confident consumer claims is a red flag."

LaPook said, "There's animal data like rats and mice that suggest they can affect, they have powerful effects on cell function, but there's no gold-standard reproducible randomized trials in humans that show they actually work."

These unregulated peptides are not prescribed, but are ordered online, then mixed and injected by the user. 

Dozens of websites have peptides listed, but few appear reputable, with bold claims, generic URLs and limited or no contact information. Many describe the peptides as for research use. Most require a user login before browsing or seeing details of the peptides for sale. LaPook warned that with such unregulated substances, it's hard to know for sure what you're buying. 

"There's a gray market out there and it is like the wild, wild West," he said. 

Why are peptides so popular? 

According to an analysis of Google search data from The Peptide Effect, U.S. peptide-related searches hit 10.1 million in January 2026. About 60% of those searches were for GLP-1s, commonly used for weight loss, but millions of other searches were for performance-related, anti-aging and healing peptides. Searches for so-called longevity peptides linked to anti-aging, heart health and metabolic regulation have increased by nearly 300% year-over-year. 

The hashtag for peptides on TikTok has been used on over 270,000 videos, some racking up hundreds of thousands or even millions of views. On Instagram, the hashtag has been used on over 654,000 posts.

Wang said that the desire for a simple solution to real problems is driving the interest in peptides and other viral health trends. That, coupled with e-commerce and social media algorithms, can result in people seeing a huge amount of content about unproven treatments. 

"The health problems that people are trying to solve, they're real, and they're also usually very complex, but the solutions being marketed are often oversimplified," Wang said. "When you see a new trending fix, it's more about, 'What is a product that can be marketed, that people will buy, that are conveyed as simple, fast, and promise control?' It taps into the consumer economy more than the health care economy." 

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has also voiced support for peptides. On the "Joe Rogan Experience" podcast last month, Kennedy said he was a "big fan" of the substances and that he has used them himself, "with really good effect on a couple injuries." He said he wanted to make over a dozen peptides that compounding pharmacies are currently not allowed to sell "more accessible," but did not offer details. 

LaPook said that Kennedy's plan "raises the question, if the FDA is making these things more widely available, what are the safety and efficacy studies that will have to happen?"