EW Has The "Blabbermouth In Chief" Dead To Rights, This Morning... Flawless!

Without any more ado, I offer you the writings from the Emerald Isle. . . of EmptyWheel.

Trust every word she writes -- and her graphics are spot-on. Here's a bit -- but do go read it all:

. . .An unnamed journalist with the traveling White House press pool asked Trump on Sunday why he’s using his Flying Bribery Palace if it lacks antimissile defenses, to which the blabbermouth-in-chief responded that it would soon be sent back to the shop to be “maxed out.”

A reporter traveling with the small group of reporters in the presidential motorcade pointed to the Qatari jet’s fuselage and said: “Mr. President, this plane does not have antimissile defense systems on it. Why are you flying it?”

Mr. Trump replied, “Well, it has — it has a lot, and you know it has a lot of capability, but as I understand it, in about a month or so, they’re going to send it to have it be maxed out. So they’re going to be sending it, and they’ll have it be maxed out.

“It’ll take about a month,” he said.

The first NYT report of that exchange, published the same day, was bylined by Maggie Haberman. Then yesterday, Tyler Pager — one of the journalists targeted by a subpoena that the FBI didn’t manage to serve on him — did a follow-up, recording both Karoline Leavitt’s explanation that it will receive “additional enhancements,” and a White House tweet recording that Trump said the “plane will be taken out of service to be ‘maxed out’,” introduced with the words, “say less,” as if someone hopes the President will stop confirming that his Flying Bribery Place is unsafe. . . .

This would be. . . hilarious -- if it was not so fundamentally. . . sad, for America for the next two years.

नमस्ते

This Morning, Evanston's Counsel Powerfully Explains Why US Atty Boutros Is... All Wet. Grin.

This is excellent. Spare. Elegant.

It avoids all the name-calling and simply bounces the MAGA US Atty Boutros -- on the well-settled, black letter federal law. Do read it all (as a 17 page PDF), but here is a bit:

. . .There can be no dispute that the Government has been on notice of this matter for over two years. First, as Evanston’s Program is one of the first of its kind, Plaintiffs’ lawsuit received substantial local and national media coverage. See, e.g., Jonathan Bullington and Alex Hulvalchick, Conservative group files lawsuit over Evanston reparations program, CHICAGO TRIBUNE (May 31, 2024) (available at https://www.chicagotribune.com/2024/05/24/conservativegroup-files-lawsuit-over-evanston-reparations-program/); Andy Rose, Evanston’s groundbreaking reparations program challenged by lawsuit from a conservative activist group, CNN (June 5, 2024) (available at https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/05/us/evanston-reparationslawsuit-reaj).

Second, and proving the Government’s actual knowledge, on June 25, 2024, two Department of Justice attorneys, Jason Bailey and Lauren Lovett (the “Government Attorneys”), emailed Evanston, informing the City that the Government had been “monitoring” this case and requesting a meeting to discuss the case further. See Email from Jason Bailey to Alexandra Ruggie, June 25, 2024, a copy of which is attached as Exhibit 1. The Government Attorneys met with Evanston on July 3, 2024. See Meeting Invite, a copy of which is attached as Exhibit 2. Following this meeting, Evanston did not receive any further communication from the Government regarding the case until 2026, nearly two years later. . . .

[I]n its Complaint in Intervention attached as an exhibit to its intervention motion, the Government concedes that the Program’s application period closed on November 5, 2021 and no applications have been accepted since that date (nearly four years ago). ECF No. 48-2 (the “Government Complaint”) ¶¶ 18, 33.

That is, of course, the opposite of what Plaintiffs told this Court. Second, the Government also acknowledged that the Program required applicants to use Program funds for housing-related purposes within Evanston city limits. Gov. Compl. ¶ 19, which is also contrary to the Plaintiffs’ allegations to this Court. . . .

The Government’s delay in moving to intervene was unreasonable. Indeed, the Government, as a prospective intervenor, must intervene “as soon as it knows or has reason to know that its interests might be adversely affected by the outcome of the litigation.” Cook Cnty., Illinois, 37 F.4th at 1341 (citing Heartwood, Inc. v. U.S. Forest Serv., Inc., 316 F.3d 694, 701 (7th Cir. 2003)). . . .

There you have it. Now we wait for the discovery which proves the Fitton shills waited too long, and had no property interests in Evanston during the relevent period. Grin.

नमस्ते

Thanks To Anon., We Learn That Again Trump Has Paid Cronies Billions -- To Utterly Fail, In A Contract With The Federal Government.

If these floaters ultimately are NOT outfitted with razor wire. . . maybe that is a small improvement.

Everyone here knows the back story (we've followed it, for over three long years). Do read there, if you don't. This is all. . . an "idiots' only" show:

. . .On Friday, a CBP spokesperson told Border Report that “these were not buoys that were already deployed and anchored in the river.”

However, photos and videos show many of the cylindrical buoys were already attached in a string as they came downriver, and that’s what caused the most pileups under the World Trade Bridge, as well as several other international bridges in South Texas.

“After several sections accumulated near the World Trade Bridge, traffic operations were temporarily suspended out of an abundance of caution, but the operations have since reopened. There are no reported injuries or damage to the bridge. Contractors are working to recover remaining buoys,” the CBP spokesperson said. . . .

U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, says the federal government, which initiated the buoys by arguing they were necessary to stop illegal immigration, needs to take responsibility for what happened.

“CBP immediately faulted the contractor but at the end of the day they got hired; they got paid literally billions of dollars, not millions, billions of dollars to do this. So even though there was a contractor, it’s still the federal responsibility,” Cuellar told Border Report on Monday. . . .

Tangerine 2.0's incompetence is only eclipsed by his. . . malevolence. Crazy -- with a hat tip, to Anon.!

नमस्ते

A Look Back -- At How Quarantines Prevented A Wider Outbreak Of The [Potentially] Aerosolized Hantavirus This Past Spring...

Yes -- nearly 30 people, none of whom ultimately developed into active, spreading cases of the virus, were in isolation for a total of 42 days. That is a significant impinging -- upon their constitutional / civil liberties.

But let us not forget that, at the point of quarantine. . . seven had alrady died from that small ship. It seemed possible -- probable even -- that this strain of the hantavirus was spreading at distances of something around four feet, when someone coughed into your own "airspace".

Even so, the NYT has quite rightly published the inside stories of those held for 42 days.

I support both truths here. And I support arresting epidemics. . . aggressively. Here's the counter-narrative:

. . .It was May 17, six days after United States health officials had evacuated 18 Americans from the cruise ship at the center of a hantavirus outbreak that had killed three people, and taken them to the special facility in Omaha, Neb., for what they had said would be a quick 72-hour evaluation before the passengers could go home to quarantine.

https://tesla2reviewed.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/life-alt-us-france-hondius-hantavirus-26.png None of them had tested positive for the virus but now, an official from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. David Fitter, was telling them on a video call that they would not be permitted to leave for at least two more weeks.

These were people who had paid thousands of dollars for a cruise through uninhabited regions, in pursuit of exotic birds and animals. They chafed against the loss of fresh air, nature and, most of all, their freedom.

“I’m asking you, as a scientist and a human,” a passenger with a red-headed woodpecker as his Zoom icon said to Dr. Fitter, on a copy of the video call viewed by The New York Times. “Do you think that this is really a sensible decision to keep me here in this room that’s making me sicker day by day, being here when I could be home isolating in a perfectly reasonable situation?”. . .

Now you know -- both sides have merit here -- but the good of the many outweighed the good of the few in this setting. That's my estimation. . . all as the Canadian wildfire air has mostly cleared here. Thank you, Lake Michigan winds!

नमस्ते

Tangerine's Supposed-Canadian Tariffs Are... PREPOSTEROUSLY Ineffectual; Stupid. And Largely Only Injure US Businesses -- And Cash-Strapped US Consumers.

So. . . it hardly seems worth a new post, but since Tangerine 2.0 tried this same stupid move in October of 2025, we will largely re-run our October 2025 post -- but note that he claims to be imposing a 50% tariff -- not 10% this time.

Yes -- "Saint Ronnie" made clear, back in 1987 (see YouTube video below), that tariffs mostly hurt the nation that imposes said tariff. Trump is a delusional, malign sociopath -- bound and determined to injure US blue collar families. Damn -- as the NYT opines, these will likely die in the courts, but. . . end update.

[Oct. 2025] Even though the Ontario Premier / honcho (and conservative -- somewhat in the style of Trump), one Mr. Doug Ford -- has agreed to suspend the running of the TRUTHFUL Reagan TV ad -- in order to ease tensions and improve Canada's trade negotiation position. . .

Tangerine 2.0 announced a new 10% tariff on specified Canadian goods. As ever, we will have to wait and see if he actually tries to enforce such a tariff -- because approximately 80% of all the tariffs he has announced have never gone into effect. His brand is simply. . . trade chaos.

Here is the latest -- out of Detroit:

. . .President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he plans to hike tariffs on imports of Canadian goods by an extra 50% 10% because of an anti-tariff television ad aired by the province of Ontario.

The ad used the words of former President Ronald Reagan to criticize U.S. tariffs, angering Trump who said he would end trade talks with Canada. Ontario’s Premier Doug Ford said he would pull the ad after the weekend, and it ran Friday night during the first game of the World Series. . . .

Trump is a sad. . . small clown, on a very big stage. There really is no other way to see this. As a reminder, heres the truthful ad:



Once again, Trump is trying to suppress free expression -- solely because it expresses a truth he doesn't like. Buckle up, buttercup. Damn.

नमस्ते

Thesis: A Presidential Pronouncement Is Not His "Private Asset" -- To Be Sold. It Is A DUTY Of The Person Sitting At 1600 Penn. It Must Be Accessible To All, Simultaneously -- If It Will Move A Market.

Look -- I get it. The stock symbol DJT is off about 75% from its all-time high. The useful idiot and former MAGA Congressman Devin Nunes has long ago been ousted as CEO, and still the stock is falling.

Long-suffering investors are now likely looking for a way out -- any way out -- at something near breakeven. And so, in palpable desperation, they are convincing his "failsons" to try to sell "front running" access to the statements that 1600 Penn makes that will move markets.

Potentially lucrative? Sure. Lawful?! Very likely. . . not.

This sort of profiteering off of ones' own role in setting policy -- while not disclosing ones' conflicted interests. . . is exactly why the framers forebade it. In any event, I supsect it will never get off the ground -- fully. Federal judges will enjoin it. Bank on that. Here's the UK Guardian on it all, thus far:

. . .“He’s selling expedited, privileged access to information about what he is doing as president,” said Kathleen Clark of the Washington University School of Law and an expert in government conflict of interest rules. “It’s yet more brazen corruption, an improper exploitation of government power to enrich himself. . . .”

Stock in TMTG has plunged more than 70% since the president took office last year, erasing $6bn (£4.4bn) in shareholder wealth.

Those losses, along with billions more of investor losses tied to new Trump family crypto businesses, have drawn scrutiny after Trump’s annual disclosure of his financial holdings shows he took in more than $1bn in revenue last year in the same companies and offerings.

Trump launched TMTG in 2021 after Meta’s Facebook and X banned him for apparently encouraging his supporters to participate in the 6 January attack on the US Capitol. He went on to launch Truth Social in February 2022 and two years later floated the business – trading under the ticker symbol “DJT” – Trump’s initials – at an initial valuation of $8bn.

Trump indirectly owns about 53% of TMTG through shares he transferred to a trust in December 2024, a month before he took office, giving him a paper fortune of about $1.41bn based on TMTG’s current $2.67bn market capitalisation.

The US president earned $2.2bn in total in his first year back in office, according to a mandatory disclosure with the US Office of Government Ethics. . . .

What a vast waste of skin he (and his sons) are. Of course, he could remain silent, until he had actually completed a thing. But we all know he cannot keep his mouth shut (or tell the truth when it is flapping).

That said, I did quite relish when the Spanish (Champions!) soccer players pushed him to the side, so that they could celebrate WITHOUT him -- and when the majority of Meadowlands fans. . . booed him. Delicious -- but embarrassing -- in front of the world (again). Wow.

नमस्ते

In A Lead USAID Funding Freeze Challenge Case, In DC -- The Pace Is Accelerating Now, Before USDC Judge Amir Ali. Tangerine 2.0 Will... Lose.

This has been a slow roll. But now, perhaps for not much longer. The DC appeals have been resolved against Tangerine 2.0, and Musk -- as his DOGE minion.

So it is on to trial, now -- where Trump/Musk will lose. Here's the latest order, from while I was away in the mountains:

. . .MINUTE ORDER.

The court is in receipt of Plaintiffs' [193] motion to compel ex parte production of documents for in camera review and to compel production of unredacted documents. The motion indicates that Defendants consent to in camera review of the documents at issue but the parties disagree as to the timeline for Defendants to file a brief defending redactions in the relevant documents, given pending summary judgment briefing.

The court agrees in camera review is appropriate. Defendants shall file the relevant documents, under seal for in camera review, and their brief defending the contested redactions by July 21, 2026, at 4:00 p.m.

Signed by Judge Amir H. Ali on 7/18/2026. . . .

Onward, resolutely.

नमस्ते

We Are Seeing An Extended "Cone Of Silence" -- As To The Current Ugandan Marburg Outbreak Stats, Now...

There was a reported first case -- and death -- about 20 days ago, in Uganda.

But since then -- with other viral vectors circulating in Uganda (prmiarily Bundibugyo / Ebola), the ministry has gone quiet about Marburg. The nation did say the last current Ebola patient had left the hospital, there -- but with all we know elsewhere in DRC primarily -- that bit of good news may prove to be fleeting.

So all of this puts a very fine point on the silence from Uganda on the Marburg patient/outbreak numbers. Here is Helen Branswell, for STAT+ reporting:

. . .The government of Uganda has gone quiet on an outbreak of the deadly Marburg virus that it reported late last month, with the World Health Organization acknowledging Thursday it has made repeated requests for updated information on the status of the investigation into how it started and how far it may have spread.

“We’ve sent several additional requests for information, and we’re still waiting to hear from them specifically on the outcomes of the investigation that we know that they’re carrying out,” Chikwe Ihekweazu⁩, executive director of the Geneva-based agency’s Health Emergencies Program, said during a new conference. . . .

Now you know. Onward, resolutely.

नमस्ते

Psyche Fly-By Of Mars -- As A Movie -- And, Musk Won't Launch Before Thursday This Week. Heh.

The promised "video fly-by" of Mars, or Barsoom if you prefer -- is now up, at NASA's YouTube page.

I thought we'd have seen it by end of May, but here it is -- finally, in mid-July. Pretty cool, either way:

. . .NASA’s Psyche spacecraft flew by Mars on May 15, using the planet’s gravity to gain speed and slightly tilt its trajectory. The flyby also gave the team an opportunity to prep for the science they will be conducting when they reach the metal-rich asteroid Psyche in 2029.

Using Mars as a stand-in for the asteroid during the flyby, they could test the spacecraft’s science instruments. The results, downlinked and analyzed over the subsequent weeks, were impressive. Not only did the instruments operate precisely as designed, delivering data that matches what NASA already knows about Mars, they also provided a few new insights about the planet along the way.

“The mission’s imager, magnetometer, and gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer teams worked overtime to make full use of this planetary encounter, and all instruments delivered great results,” said Lindy Elkins-Tanton, principal investigator for Psyche at the University of California, Berkeley. “We didn’t anticipate big discoveries, given how extensively the planet has been studied, but we did complement Mars science with the data we collected through Psyche’s unique perspective. . . .”

Oh. And Musk's next Starship attempt for launch will be no earlier than this Thursday or Friday. Musk seemed rather. . . unclear. . . and updated: SpaceX closed below $120 a share tonight. Hilarious. Out.

नमस्ते

Trivia: Fitton-Shill Plaintiffs Offer Decidedly Weak Sauce -- On Statute Of Limitations Issue, In Evanston Reparations Case...

I won't quote any of this nonsense -- but instead just link to it -- for the sake of a complete record.

USDC Judge Kness has already ruled that these faux-plaintiffs / crisis actors cannot stop a statute of limitations challenge mounted by Evanston -- essentially by saying it is inconvenient for them to admit to the defects in their case.

And relatedly -- as their "case" falls away, so to does the Trumpian US Attorney's attempt to intervene, here.

This is civil dispute between private parties (if any dispute there actually be). He cannot "intervene" where there is no case or controversy, to begin with. That is so, because the shills missed the deadline to file.

He may separately bring his own suit -- but again, the statute of limitations will bar his efforts, as well. He is just. too. late. Onward, smiling -- in spite of the poor air quality here.

नमस्ते

In Each Recent Ebola Outbreak, Fear And Hostility From The Communities... Has Been A Vexing Issue. But In No Manner A Unique One.

So too, in this 2026 version -- but the burning of 12 treatment facilities. . . seems more extreme (so far), even when compared to the 2012-14 outbreak. That one killed over 11,300. [We are likely approaching 1,000 deaths this time, but perhaps there were 500 deaths before it was officially accepted in DRC that the current outbreak was underway.]

The NYT has an excellent long-form look into this phenomenon, this morning. Here's that -- proving that this is common -- across various pandemics, centuries -- and cultures:

. . .[T]his would be easy to chalk up to poor education and anachronistic rituals: “Fear and ignorance as ebola ‘out of control’ in parts of west Africa,” as one Guardian headline put it in 2014. But unrest during epidemics is not about Ebola, Africa or education. It is something societies have struggled with for centuries, and it is evident in rich countries as well as poor ones, in modern times and medieval ones.

During the Covid pandemic, Western doctors, nurses and health officials received not only applause and gratitude but also death threats. Patients denied that Covid existed as they died of the disease. Protesters carrying guns occupied sidewalks outside hospitals. Multitudes embraced treatments, such as ivermectin, that study after study showed to be ineffective. Vaccinators in Italy were assaulted. A German gas station attendant and a Michigan Family Dollar security guard were killed after asking customers to wear masks. . . .

[Public health] outbreaks elicit a contradictory mix of responses. They often unfold in three acts, wrote Charles E. Rosenberg, a medical historian: First, people deny reality and put off behavioral changes that might slow the spread. Then they demand explanations, often blaming “individual and community sins” or, in some cases, doctors. Finally, they take action. Then they have to contend with the aftermath of both the infections and the finger-pointing -- the life-and-death consequences for themselves and their neighbors. . . .

It’s about history and culture and politics and even just about how people love and care for others in their family who are sick. And to reduce it to something like ‘resistance’ that needs stamping out in a really militaristic, heavy-handed response — that’s the exact wrong way to go.” Only when we understand these tendencies, she and other scholars say, can we navigate them. . . .

Indeed. Now you know -- and. . . also now, back in a Canadian wildfire smoke-tinted Chi-, this morning -- the sky is decidedly yellow, and breathing the air without a mask. . . delivers a sore throat within ten minutes. Ugh. But onward, just the same.

नमस्ते

Tangent: Starship Engine Glitch; SpaceX Plunges To $125, This Morning. Hilarious.

Well, I guess we won’t have to wait until September to see $130 on the NASDAQ. In fact, we’ll see you formerly irrational boosters (buying in at $225, a month ago)… at sub- $125 today.

Right now — it has touched $122 and change.

Here is the latest, from Yahoo -- posting an article from the UK’s The Independent:

. . .SpaceX was forced to abort its latest Starship launch just seconds before lift off on Thursday after some of the engines on the world's biggest rocket failed to start.

The scrubbed launch came just hours after SpaceX shares fell below their initial public offering (IPO) price of $135 for the first time, marking a 40 per cent drop in value over the last month. . . .

This is all very droll — and given Musk‘s well-documented history of making wildly overstated claims — about publicly traded securities with which he is/was affiliated, this is/was all very much predictable.

Grin -- a great day ahead in the mountains with both of my boys!

नमस्ते

A New Era In Oral Cardiovascular Risk Management Dawns: In the US, Merck's Lipfendra (PCSK9 Pill) Goes On Sale. Stock Jumps ~4%.

This entire blog -- now over 10,000 posts (and spanning all the days since early 2008) was originally my editorial narrative arc of a clearly suspect LDL pill called Vytorin. Back then, CEO Fast Fred Hassan was touting it, while the esteemed Yale MD, Dr. Harlan Krumholz (later) came to call this drug "a very expensive placebo" -- for cholesterol management.

The markets for managing high cholesterol, a primary risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, are vast -- into the high teens of billions of dollars a year, in the US alone. Finally, now -- with this morning's FDA approval -- a drug that actually works to improve outcomes (as a pill) is on market. And at ~$310 a month, most US patients are likely to receive the therapy. Sweet -- Merck's NYSE price is bound to rise today -- but here is the latest, via Reuters:

. . .The pill Lipfendra is intended to treat patients with hypercholesterolemia, which can be identified by elevated levels of LDL, the so-called "bad" cholesterol ⁠in the blood, often leading to plaque buildup in the arteries.

With the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's approval, Lipfendra, also called enlicitide, would become the first oral PCSK9 inhibitor to enter the market, offering an alternative to a class of cholesterol-lowering drugs long dominated by injectables.

Its list price will be $10.50 per day, based on a 30-day supply, Merck told Reuters. The company's shares were up 1.1% in premarket trading. . . .

Now you know. Full circle -- and so, nearly 20 years later, the debacle that was the "very expensive placebo" called Vytorin -- at now gone-Schering-Plough, is at an end.

Smile -- rest of my crew arrives by jet this aft -- then into the cool but wild-fire hazed mountians again.

नमस्ते

SpaceX Now Trading BELOW The IPO Price. Yawn.

Just as we said it would -- now with further to fall, by September.

What do they say -- about a fool, and his money?

Right.

Musk is a charlatan and con-man. Period.

नमस्ते

This Seems Excessive — But Okay. Whatever.

Recall that both DRC and Uganda have outbound travel measures, already in place -- for Ebola and Marburg -- respectively.

I am not sure this is really needed -- but I suppose excess caution makes some sense, with thousands dead, and more dying in DRC. [And yet, we know Ebola only speads via very close contact, despite Tangerine 2.0's legendary misunderstandings of viral vectors / transmission -- Bundibugyo / Ebola is not air-borne.]

Here is the latest, from Reuters:

. . .The Trump administration on Monday said it is blocking American citizens in the Democratic Republic of Congo from traveling to the U.S. on commercial flights, according to a White House official.

The ‌order, which is being taken under a transportation authority known as Title 49, will place U.S. citizens in Congo or those who have recently left on a “do-not-board” list until they have spent at least 21 days in a third country, the person said. . . .

Now onward, as E. Jean Carroll receives her first ~$5.6 million from Tangerine, from his libelous lies. About $84 million, more -- next.Smile.

नमस्ते

[U: Full 56 Page Opinion] The IRS Cannot Be… Bought. Not by Trump & Blanche, Anyway.

Mid-flight, I see that Tangerine 2.0 & Todd Blanche are now reaping the whirlwind, for their corrupt and thus unenforceable IRS "settlement" self-dealing. Flawless. [Updated: here is the full USDC opinion.]

And Blanche may lose his NY bar card, behind it all -- sweet:

. . .A federal judge on Monday ruled that President Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service was an improper exercise in self-dealing and barred him from claiming that the extraordinary tax protections he received were part of a legitimate settlement agreement.

In the order, the judge, Kathleen M. Williams, also referred the lawyer who brought Mr. Trump’s case against the I.R.S. to the Florida bar for potential disciplinary proceedings. Judge Williams added that she would forward her decision to the New York bar, which is already investigating the acting attorney general, Todd Blanche. . . .

Excellent! Touching down in 30 minutes or so. . . to a saner world.

नमस्ते

First Patients Dosed, In DRC Clinical Trial For A Bundibugyo Therapeutic... Fingers Crossed.

This is good news -- and here is to hoping it turns out to be both effective, and safe.

Here's the latest -- per the UK Guardian:

. . .[This] is a record pace to set up and start this kind of research, scientists said, with patients enrolled just six weeks after the outbreak being declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 17 May.

Nevertheless, in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province, where the virus is raging, people are impatient.

“I hope these drug trials proceed quickly,” said Neema Haba, a mother of three and banana seller. “Financially, we are being driven to the brink by this outbreak and nothing is going right. We are struggling to provide for our children.”

As of 9 July, there had been 1,792 confirmed cases and 625 deaths caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the virus, for which there is no vaccine and no approved treatment. It is still “in the expansion phase”, according to the WHO. . . .

Hopes of turning the tide now rest with scientists searching for effective medicines.

The Partners treatment trial has opened with two drugs on its books – remdesivir, and MBP134. Patients will be randomly allocated to receive either drug, a combination of the two, or simply standard, supportive care.

Remdesivir is an antiviral made by pharma company Gilead Sciences, while MBP134 is a monoclonal antibody developed by Mapp Biopharmaceutical, containing two specially engineered immune proteins that recognise and neutralise the virus.

Both are given intravenously – MBP134 as a one-off infusion, and remdesivir as 10 days of intravenous therapy.

“These two drugs actually have been proven to work against the Bundibugyo virus in animal models,” said Prof Laurens Liesenborghs of the Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, who is working on the trial in Ituri. . . .

Now you know -- jetting out of Midway, by 11 am tomorrow. Smile. . . .

नमस्ते

2026 Lassa Fever Outbreak In Nigeria -- Still Spreading Ferociously... And At Higher Mortality Rates, Too: Killing About 1-In-4.

This is very hard news. But to be expected, in a time of disappearing American leadership, on public health prevention, globally.

The erstwhile folks at OutbreakNewsToday (once again), have the latest -- from Nigeria:

. . .According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), since the beginning of the year through the end of June, 2026, 922 confirmed Lassa fever cases have been reported in the country, up from 790 cases reported during the same period in 2025. . . .

The death toll from confirmed cases has also increased compared to last year. Cumulatively, 221 deaths (compared to 148 deaths in 2025) have been reported with a case fatality rate (CFR) of 24.0% which is higher than the CFR for the same period in 2025 (18.7%).

In total for 2026, 23 States have recorded at least one confirmed case across 111 Local Government Areas (LGA). . . .

Now you know -- with bbgrrl's 10^th birthday party in a couple hours -- then on a jet, in the morning -- to the high Rockies for a week -- blogging will be sparse. Smile.

नमस्ते

The LINK Mission Continues To Work Checklists, Toward A Grappling With, And Then A Boosting Of... Swift's Now Decaying Low Earth Orbit...

The "excess momentum" mentioned below was likely a sort of over-rotation / spin problem. Not uncommon, after such a launch. We're glad the team got it resolved -- and now will use autonomous software to keep the appropriate (Sun facing) attitude for the solar panels. [Latest prior backgrounder here.]

In any event, here's the latest, from the associated NASA blog:

. . .Commissioning is well underway for Katalyst’s robotic servicing spacecraft LINK, which is designed to boost the orbit of NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory. . . .

[The team] stabilized the spacecraft after an initial period of excess momentum and enabled autonomous momentum management. Katalyst is now checking out LINK’s subsystems, including its electric propulsion system, which involves firing the spacecraft’s three xenon-fueled thrusters. . . .

The commissioning process is anticipated to take a few weeks, with flexibility built in to allow the team to pause, assess data, and adjust as needed. After the commissioning phase, LINK will begin its journey to meet and rendezvous with Swift. . . .

Now you know -- close up cabaret magic again, tonight -- downtown. Smile. . . after hearing Tchaikovsky's Fifth, live last night in the park -- with fireworks, after.

नमस्ते

Harrowing Models Suggest The Actual Ebola Figures In Ituri Province, DRC Are Double- To Quadruple-... The Confirmed Number Of Cases -- And Deaths.

As we'd said over eight weeks ago, the numbers are certainly much worse than the tested, official case counts.

Here's the latest -- but especially in Ituri, the rates of new cases -- with no traced contact to any other -- suggests this will be a very long-tail outbreak. Yikes:

. . .Four out of every five new Ebola ​cases in parts of Democratic Republic of Congo have no known link to existing patients, a ‌senior World Health Organization official said, warning that the true scale of the outbreak could be two to four times larger than official data suggest.

The figures underscore the challenges facing health workers as they battle to contain the outbreak in the country's northeast, which has so far [by confirmed, tested cases] infected 1,792 people and killed 625, according to government data released on Thursday. . . .

WHO estimates based on modelling and test positivity rates suggest the outbreak, which was declared in mid-May, may be between two and four times larger than the number ​of confirmed cases, he said.

About 90% of all reported cases remain concentrated in Ituri province, particularly in the ​health zones of Bunia, Rwampara, Mongbwalu and Nyakunde, where transmission remains intense. . . .

And as we previously said. . . this is a Musk/Trumpian legacy, too. They gutted USAID, when it was most needed.

नमस्ते