So -- A Georgia Dad, Who Gave His Mentally-Disturbed 14 Year Old An AR-15 -- [After A Finding Of Dangerousness] Has Been Sentenced To 15 Years, After Son Became a School Shooter. Justice.

Our national insanity about guns. . . must end.

It is a public health epidemic of the first order. And wildly irresponsible, criminal parents. . . are not helping the matter. Yes, he deserves the 15 years in prison. Several children are injured and four are dead -- due to his fecklessness. Here's the latest, out of Georgia; and a bit:

. . .A man who gifted his 14-year-old son an assault rifle that he then used to unleash a mass shooting at a Georgia high school was sentenced Thursday to 15 years in prison.

A jury in March convicted the man, Colin Gray, on multiple charges, including second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter, over the Christmas gift his son used in the Sept. 4, 2024, shooting at Apalachee High School. . . .

Gray gave the weapon to his son, Colt Gray, even when a few months earlier law enforcement had come to the Gray home because the teenager had threatened to shoot up an elementary school, according to prosecutors.

“The weight of your crimes is tethered and tied to the acts of someone else, your son,” Primm said. “Two scenarios: you fail the same way in both. You fail to get Colt counseling. You fail to remove the guns from the house.”

The younger Gray, now 16, was sentenced to life without parole for the shooting, which left two students and two teachers dead. Another teacher and eight more students were wounded, seven of them by gunfire. . . .

We must rein this in. Dammit.

नमस्ते

The Private Katalyst Space Tech Team Last Updated Its Orbital Spacecraft's Status On July 15... Hmm.

Of course, as we noted here two days ago -- NASA itself, since it is responsible for the Swift space 'scope -- updated its status, on July 28, 2026.

To be fair, the news was fairly ominous -- and doubtful, for the prospects of "boosting" the aging Swift -- up, to a higher, safer orbit.

Yet, the commercial venture tasked with grappling the 'scope -- and then powering it up to a higher altitude. . . has fallen silent, for 15 long days.

The company's last word was that "all was well" -- on July 15. [And, yes -- I do understand "for profit" market dynamics. . . but in truth, it pains me to have to write this -- about a Colorado front range company.]

So -- we continue to wait. We wait to hear from NASA, if it still independently thinks the craft will be safe to try an approach toward Swift -- and then to grapple it -- and then, to try to boost it. . . with its Xenon-fired engines.

The waiting. . . is often. . . the hardest part.

But Katalyst leadership would behoove themselves to be candid, magnanimous, forthright and timely -- and at least cop to what NASA has already shared with the planet.

We are all on the same team here, people -- and we all well know. . . space is. . . a mug. It. is. HARD. But let's at least own up to the facts (as now known).

Onward.

नमस्ते

Congo Approaches Famine-Like Conditions, In Resettlement Camps -- Due To Ebola's Ongoing Waves, In Ituri Province.

Collectively, we all know how to end this outbreak.

But now, with USAID off-grid -- we lack the resources, where and when they are needed -- to do so. Dammit. Here's the latest, from boots on the ground reporting:

. . .The U.N. is sounding the alarm about a growing hunger crisis in eastern Congo that is exacerbated by the Ebola outbreak. In the DRC, the ongoing Ebola outbreak has recorded over 3,300 confirmed cases, including more than 1,400 deaths. According to the U.N.’s senior Ebola coordinator, 50 people died of Ebola just in the last 24 hours. This is the acting director of the World Food Programme.

Carl Skau said “Some 10 million people — I mean, 10 million people, that’s the population of Sweden, the country I come from — are acutely food insecure in the eastern DRC. And 3 million of those are in IPC-4 — as you know, emergency level of food insecurity. That is one step away from famine. That means they go to bed every night hungry. They wake up hungry every morning. . . .”

This is truly going to be near the worst Ebola outbreak, in recorded history -- because we in the US have decided to turn our collective backs on our fellow humans. Damnation.

To be clear, during the one outbreak during the Biden Administration (with USAID) -- the dying stopped at four humans. FOUR. We are over 1,400, in a few months. Ponder that -- onward.

नमस्ते

October 13, 2026 Is "Final Hearing" Before USDC Judge Alia Moses, In Dusty West Texas -- On Razor Wire Barriers, On Rio Grande...

To be certain, those maimed and killed on the Rio Grande. . . will receive damages from Texas, for this lawlessness.

It may take another decade -- but it will come. [The related federal court mediation continues on a parallel path to this -- as well.] Here's the latest, out of Del Rio:

. . .Pursuant to the Court’s direction at the Status Conference in this case on July 14, 2026, Plaintiff State of Texas submits the following notice:

Plaintiff intends to offer into evidence at the final hearing of this case, currently set for October 13, 2026, some or all of the evidence and testimony previously presented to the Court at the hearings in this case on November 7, 2023; November 27, 2023; and March 4 and 5, 2024, and in addition may present testimony by the following witnesses:

1. Michael W. Banks

2. (as adverse witness) Defendant Anthony “Scott” Good, Acting Chief Patrol Agent, Del Rio Sector of U. S. Border Patrol.

3. Col. Brian Fletcher. . . .

Now you know. What a vast and ongoing waste -- of Texans' taxpayer funds. The MAGA gubernator down there does not control federal waterways -- even if Tangerine 2.0 is doing ZERO, to end the depraved and torturous lawlessness, on those waterways. Abbott cannot hop into the supposed breach to continue his cruel lawlessness. He just. . . can't.

नमस्ते

New Mechanical Issues — For Privately-Funded Link Spacecraft…

This is the ambitious private mission to grapple a handle on to the aging Swift space telescope, and power it up, into a new and higher orbit.

As we earlier reported, shortly after lift off, the spacecraft experienced erratic behavior in at least one of its gyro-wheels, causing it to over-rotate, and potentially thus fail to fully charge its solar batteries. The team thought they had solved that issue. However, some version of that issue has returned this past weekend -- now more vexing -- as two of the three gyro wheels are not operating properly.

As we always say, space is. . . hard.

Here's the latest tonight, from the team's blog -- on the NASA website -- do keep your fingers crossed:

. . .Over the weekend, Katalyst’s LINK servicing spacecraft experienced issues with attitude control, causing the spacecraft to spin and resulting in sporadic communications. Preliminary investigation shows that two of LINK’s three reaction wheels currently are not operable, and there is some loss of functionality in its cold gas thruster system. LINK is designed to approach, capture, and boost NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory to a higher orbital altitude.

LINK’s other major subsystems are functioning as expected. The spacecraft remains power positive and in communication with the Katalyst team.

The team is working to stop LINK’s spin over the next few days, using the spacecraft’s electric propulsion thrusters. After reestablishing stable attitude and further investigating spacecraft status, Katalyst plans to update LINK’s guidance, navigation, and control to accommodate the spacecraft’s new configuration. Working closely with NASA teams, they will then evaluate revised plans to approach and capture Swift, depending on safety of the approach and LINK’s health. . . .

We will keep a good thought -- and post updates, as, if and/or when the NASA blog publishes additional updates. Yikes. Let's hope Swift may still be saved from a fiery death, next year.

नमस्ते

What Doctors Without Borders Is Doing, In DRC -- To Try To Plug The Gaping Hole Left By USAID Departure: Bundibugyo / Ebola '26 Edition

MSF (or, Doctors Without Borders, in English) is as ever, working feverishly to alleviate the crisis in Ituri Province DRC -- where this Bundibugyo species of Ebola is spreading largely unchecked. [My graphic is woefully outdated: now 1,400 or more are dead -- many more to come, sadly. But no one really knows the actual numbers, as people were dying for months in the region before the outbreak was officially declared, this Spring.]

This is a remote, mining camp laden province, with lots of transient workers -- and a wide-spread fear of Euro/Western interference. And, to top it off, a civil war is raging in the region, with most combatants not wearing regular uniforms. So one may never know who might be a hostile force, passing through. All of that is before Tangerine 2.0/Rump cut off USAID. Damn.

In any event, here's a bit of that -- but it is a daunting effort, to be certain:

. . .Currently, more than 1,400 Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) staff are on the ground in DRC, treating patients, setting up Ebola treatment centers and isolation units, and delivering supplies to overwhelmed health facilities.

This outbreak is particularly challenging to control; just over two months in, it’s already the third-largest and fastest-growing Ebola disease outbreak on record. Unlike most previous outbreaks of Ebola disease, this one is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, and there are very few medical tools available to fight it. Further, conflict-related insecurity, airport closures, and flight restrictions are disrupting the flow of staff, diagnostics, referrals, and supply chains. Major gaps related to diagnosis, surveillance, contact tracing, and community engagement continue to undermine efforts to bring the outbreak under control. And the response is further complicated by the concurrent health needs in DRC, where the coming rainy season will raise the risk of further outbreaks. . . .

Please join me, and donate if you are able:

Doctors Without Borders USA

P.O. Box 5030
Hagerstown, MD 21741-5030

Onward -- resolutely just the same.

नमस्ते

Mpox Clade 1b Is Spreading Like Wildfire -- In Madagascar Now... Terrible News -- Over 3,000 Are Ill.

The tiny island nation off the African coast faces a very grave public health threat -- as Clade 1b is spreading out of control now, in the coastal cities.

We had already mentioned this story earlier his Spring, but without USAID, this has all continued to accelerate -- rather than having been quickly arrested. Here's the latest, from the usual UK outlets:

. . .More than 3,000 cases of mpox have been recorded in Madagascar after the virus spread from a single port city to some of the country’s busiest coastal hubs.

A total of 3,022 cases and 20 deaths have been recorded as of this week, with cases in Toamasina and Taolagnaro accounting for more than half of all diagnoses.

The outbreak has been linked to Clade 1b mpox, a strain that emerged in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2024, prompting the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare a global public health emergency at the time.

“The main factor driving the continued spread of the disease is human mobility, seeding new outbreaks in areas where the virus has not circulated before,” said Professor Carlos Maluquer de Motes of the University of Surrey. . . .

Now you know -- with ice skating ahead this evening, with grand-nieces, before they fly off to Costa Rica -- kinda' like Abrego Garcia. Smile. . . .

नमस्ते

The Roman Space Telescope Is Now Fully Fueled — Launching Late August ‘26.

We will see history, now in just about a month's time (right before we go off-grid for a month in France and Italy): the first space telescope named for a NASA (paler) "hidden figures" pioneer will liftoff, on a five to ten year mission -- at our second Lagrange point.

Here is a bit of the team's latest blog update -- from the Kennedy Space Center complex:

. . .Technicians completed fueling NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, bringing it an important step closer to launch. On July 25, the team completed operations that carefully loaded 290 gallons of hydrazine fuel into the observatory at the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

After launch and separation from the rocket, Roman will use this onboard propellant to perform maneuvers as it travels to Sun-Earth Lagrange point 2, or L2, located about one million miles from Earth. There, about four times the distance to the Moon, it will have an ideal home for astronomy.

Roman will use its propellant to power two types of thrusters that help it stay in its planned orbit around L2 and ensure the solar array panels face the Sun, which is the observatory’s main source of power throughout the mission.

Roman has a five-year primary mission, and potentially enough fuel to support an additional five years for an extended mission. . . .

Yep, onward -- with no major damage here -- and lil' ladies visit -- before ice skating, tomorrow evening. Smile. . . .

नमस्ते

The KATALYST/Link/BOOST Mission Continues To Pass Its Commissioning Benchmarks -- Toward Raising Orbit Of Swift 'Scope -- Soon.

After solving a gyro-wheel issue which was causing erratic rotational commands, the team has now settled into steady communications, and plenty of solar power -- to run the operations -- and fire the Xenon engines, when the time comes to go grapple Swift, and fly it up to a higher orbit.

So all is progressing well, for this privately-contracted space mission -- the first of its kind. While the shuttle program used a Canadarm, in its bay from time to time, to grapple things -- this is the first private mission, designed to primarily power an aging 'scope, to a higher / safer orbit. Do stay tuned -- with much drama ahead:

. . .Teams continue to progress through in-orbit preparations for the robotic servicing spacecraft designed to boost NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory to a higher altitude. Katalyst Space’s LINK spacecraft remains healthy and is about halfway through this commissioning process.

LINK launched July 3, completed its initial postlaunch sequence, and began system checkouts. After completing solar array deployment and establishing communications, Katalyst now has commissioned LINK’s power systems and avionics, as well as conducted propulsion system checkouts. This has involved firing the spacecraft’s xenon-fueled thrusters, which will be used to travel to Swift and slowly raise its orbital altitude over the course of several months.

The Katalyst team also quickly addressed early communications and attitude control issues seen during flight operations, including an issue with one of the spacecraft’s three reaction wheels. After identifying the cause, they implemented flight software patches and operational updates that restored reliable communications and stable attitude control. . . .

And so, onward -- ever, onward -- out into a soaking rain for a bike ride here, now -- as the heat and humidity break for the afternoon. Smile. . . .

नमस्ते

There Is Now An East Bay Sanctuary V. This Federal FOIA Suit Seeks To Compel US Customs & Immigration To Disclose Status Of DACA Authorizations/Renewals

Donald Trump has had to settle, by consent decrees, the last four federal suits the erstwhile public advocacy group East Bay Sanctuary brought against lawless border/ICE activity during Tangerine 1.0.

This is an office that is very well staffed, with a very capable set of advocates.

I am confident they will be able to force Tangerine 2.0's federal machinery to comply with the FIOA strictures. These young people are entitled to know what they must do, in order to remain in Trump's version of the program -- and when they must do it. He cannot end this -- not without an all-new Act of Congress. That's how this works. Here's the 20 page complaint (filed in the Bay Area while I was off-grid) -- and a bit of it:

. . .Plaintiffs have sought information from Defendants about the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (“DACA”) policy and in particular the severe delays DACA recipients around the country have experienced in renewing their grants of DACA since at least November 2025. This information is directly relevant to Plaintiffs’ mission to serve clients who are affected by the delayed renewals and advising them on how to navigate the consequences of these delays. Plaintiffs also intend to widely disseminate this information to inform the public as part of their core mission of gathering and sharing immigration-related information in connection with their legal and advocacy work.

The absence of any explanation for these delays in processing DACA renewal applications leaves Plaintiffs’ clients and other DACA recipients at a loss as to how they should proceed in seeking to renew their DACA grants. USCIS guidance recommends that DACA recipients submit their renewal requests between 120 days and 150 days before their current DACA grant will expire. Yet DACA recipients who follow this guidance are finding their current DACA grants lapse before their renewal requests are adjudicated. The consequences of delayed DACA renewals have a profound impact on DACA recipients, their families, and their communities. . . .

For example, a 26-year-old graduate from a top medical school is unable to begin his residency in anesthesiology because his DACA renewal has not yet been adjudicated. Similarly, a DACA recipient who completed his fellowship in orthopedic surgery in New York was set to begin a position in an underserved medical center in rural Pennsylvania later this year, but has not been able to work since February due to the delay in his DACA renewal. And nurses at Kaiser Permanente in the Bay Area have been placed on unpaid leave after their DACA lapsed, despite filing for renewals over four months in advance. For these individuals and the many others experiencing delayed DACA renewal adjudications, the delays have jeopardized not only their educations, careers, and livelihoods, but also threaten their ability to provide for their families and care for their communities through the service professions to which they have dedicated themselves. . . .

We -- as a nation -- need to rise up, and tell the MAGA idiots with one voice. . . their guy at 1600 Penn lacks the independent power to undo Acts of Congress -- to upend lives of DACA dreamers who are making our nation a better place. He is allowed to disagree with prior law, but in order to change it -- he must have his Congress (he controls both chambers at the moment) pass new legislation.

He is. . . in short, no king. Onward, resolutely.

नमस्ते

[U: Trading @ $110 Monday Morning!] SpaceX Will Post Vast GAAP Losses Per Share, On August 4. Then Two Days Later, Many Insiders Will Be Free To Sell.

This may well turn into the perfect storm for Elon, if the poor quarterly results at Tesla -- coupled to the below -- end up meaning that the two companies' chance for a favorable merger transaction. . . has been scuttled.

All the structuring (and frankly -- winking) on the planet cannot obscure the gargantuan and poor GAAP financials -- in both these '34 Act companies now. Here is a bit, for the evening of August 4, 2026:

. . .Consensus estimates project revenue of around $6.87 billion for the quarter and a loss of $0.28 per share, according to Yahoo! Finance. . . .

In the first quarter of 2026, SpaceX generated revenue of nearly $4.7 billion and a loss of $1.27 per share. . . .

If insiders sell a large number of their shares, that could flood the market with supply and hurt the stock, even if [the narrowing losses] are perceived positively. . . .

What an upside down world, indeed -- but don't go short or buy puts yet, because too many deep pockets will try irrational things to prop up the stock price above $100, in the next six months.

No, let it break below $100 first. And it will. Heh.

नमस्ते

[U] Measles Are Once Again A Scourge In The US. Thanks, RFK Jr -- And Tangerine 2.0.

I have now updated last year's graphic -- but the news is actually worse, in this second summer, of Tangerine 2.0.

Who are these people? Perhaps hundreds of avoidable/excess deaths will occur in US children -- due to their idiocy. Here's the latest, from the Gray Lady:

. . .More measles cases have been reported in the United States in the last two years than in all the years from 2000 through 2024 combined. . . .

The United States has now recorded more cases of measles in 2026 than in any other year since the virus was declared eliminated in 2000, a grim sign that the country may be headed toward a new era in which the disease regularly sickens thousands every year.

On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that there have been 2,318 confirmed cases of measles so far this year. The case count toppled the record set last year, when measles infected more than 2,200 Americans and killed two unvaccinated children. More measles cases have been reported in the United States in the last two years than in all the years from 2000 through 2024 combined.

Reversing course on measles would require a nationwide push to improve vaccination rates, a prospect that experts said seemed unlikely under the leadership of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. He has halted funding for vaccine hesitancy research, downplayed the risks of measles and spearheaded a hunt for evidence that vaccines are unsafe. . . .

What a malignant, bass-ackwards fool. And he's the supposed-voice of American public health policies?! Damn.

नमस्ते

SpaceX Update: Starship 13 Did Make It Off The Pad; But Lower Stage Suffered A "Hard Splashdown" -- As Not All Engines Re-Lit, On Re-Entry... More Work Ahead, For Elon.

It now looks as though that first stage -- which is designed to land softly, and thus be entirely re-usable after re-fueling. . . is damaged beyond repair, by a very hard, high velocity impact into the Gulf of Mexico waters. . . .

And so, with SpaceX stock trading around $115, or ~15% below its [silly] IPO price of $135 -- and about 46% below its post IPO high of $212. . . we next await the first quarterly results at the SEC EDGAR window on the night of August 4, 2026. But you may safely bet that the company has lost money -- tons of it. So the stock will decline -- from here. That is my confident prediction.

Here's the latest -- overnight, from CNBC:

. . .SpaceX launched its massive Starship rocket Friday evening from its company town and launch facility in Starbase, Texas, in a 13^th test flight and the first since the company’s record IPO last month.

The rocket’s Super Heavy booster detached from the Starship spacecraft about two minutes into the flight, and made a controlled splashdown in the Gulf.

In a statement following the flight, SpaceX said the landing was not perfect as the booster, “attempted to relight its engines for the landing burn,” but only a subset successfully ignited before the “hard splashdown. . . .”

Starship [is] the largest rocket ever built or flown, to be fully reusable and to lift more cargo for less cost into orbit. Starship is considered crucial for the company’s goal to vastly expand its Starlink satellite network, among other missions.

About 18 minutes into Friday’s test flight, SpaceX successfully deployed 20 of its new Starlink V3 satellites into orbit, a first chance for the company to see how they performed in flight. The satellites were intended to burn up after about 20 minutes. . . .

Onward, to an evening of. . . live Scottish bagpipes! Heh!

नमस्ते

Much More -- On The Chilling FBI/DoJ Approach, To The Reporting On The Flying Bribery Palace... From EW. Do read it all.

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Welp. The ironies here. . . never cease. I'll let EW tell the story, without additional fanfare.

Here's the latest -- from Ireland -- very well parsed, by EW -- do go read it all:

. . .Among the three stories NYT has published on Trump’s Flying Bribery Palace since DOJ dropped subpoenas targeting five journalists and their call records is one that lays out some of the ways DOJ deviated from normal leak investigation procedures before getting the subpoenas.

It elaborates on a point I made here: that Deputy US Attorney Sean Buckley, the guy who claims to be in charge of the entire leak investigation, described it as targeting a “potential leak,” not as something that had been confirmed via a criminal referral. . . .

As the story notes, both Todd Blanche and Jay Clayton testified in their confirmation hearings that nothing untoward went down with these subpoenas; Buckley’s representation to the court directly debunks Clayton’s testimony.

But Buckley just bought both men time, probably enough time for at least Clayton to get confirmed without further disclosures of DOJ’s abusive investigative methods, before Senate Republicans install the men permanently.

After DOJ withdrew the subpoenas, Judge Arun Subramanian memorialized those withdrawals, but also ordered DOJ to provide him — by Monday — with the backup to DOJ’s failures to follow normal process in obtaining third party subpoenas after the journalists had already been subpoenaed. . . . [That will never come.]

Now you know -- onward to a friend's Scottish bagpipes celebration, in a grove -- this early evening. Film at 11. Heh.

नमस्ते

Small Updates Dept.: In Global Health Council v. Trump (Case No. 25-cv-402, USDC DC Dist.), The Able USDC Judge Has Grown Tired Of Tangerine 2.0's Foot Dragging...

This is another of those wrongful DOGE / Trump "freeze / termination" of Congressionally mandated funding cases -- from last year.

The able USDC Judge Amir Ali is going to default the feds out -- for repeatedly trying to kick the can down the alley, always at the last minute (without any plausible explanation).

Clearly Team Tangerine 2.0 knows a loss is coming -- and right quick, now.

Here is the entire order, in running text:

. . .MINUTE ORDER.

[Trump] Defendants' [197] motion to modify the summary judgment briefing schedule is denied.

On June 12, 2026, the court set the parties' summary judgment deadline as July 13, 2026, with responses due July 23, 2026, and replies due July 28, 2026.

The court later adopted Defendants' proposal to extend the parties' summary judgment deadline to July 16, 2026, and then extended it a second time to allow Defendants more time to produce the administrative record, setting the deadline for the parties' summary judgment motions as July 27, 2026, for responses as August 3, 2026, and for leave to file any replies as August 7, 2026.

Given the court has already twice extended briefing and adopted briefing schedules proposed by Defendants, that the court finds Defendants have failed to show any unforeseeable cause for further extension, and the potential time sensitivity of resolution of summary judgment, the court denies Defendants' third extension request.

Signed by Judge Amir H. Ali on 7/23/2026. . . .

Now you know. Onard, resolutely -- will likely see/support Lupita Nyong'o in "The Odyssey" tonight. Smile.

नमस्ते

14 Symptom-Free US Citizens Were Held At Ft. Drum, NY -- For Trying To Enter US By Land, From Canada -- After Visiting DRC: Claim Is... Ebola Risk. Sheesh.

Most of all, here -- I want to highlight how utterly unserious Tangerine 2.0 and RFK, Jr. are -- about epidemic abatement bio-science. For a few weeks now, Trump has imposed a 21 day waiting period on AIR travelers, entering the US after leaving DRC. But over-land entry remains completely lawful. At least, according to his published reports, from minions at the US State Dept.

So, apparently about 14 US citizens arrived from DRC into Canada, by air (lawfully) -- and then (lawfully) rented cars, and drove to a border station just inside northern Vermont (lawfully -- and as it happens, I was inside this cute facility last summer, while returning to South Hero Island, from a night in Montreal -- it is full of New England's charms) -- and were held overnight -- then diverted, under threat of arrest, to NY's Ft. Drum army base for up to 21 days of isolation.

This, despite the fact that none of them showed any worrisome symptoms (some were never near Ituri province, moreover) -- and the fact remains that driving in from Canada or Mexico is perfectly lawful, if one is a US citizen. Tangerine's maddeningly-irrational chaos is. . . debilitating. Each of these 14 people ought to sue the federal government, for failing to cut square corners, when dealing with healthy returning travelers. Here's what is known -- to this point:

. . . .According to published reports, U.S. health officials quarantined 14 Americans at Fort Drum after returning from a country where an Ebola outbreak is underway.

Reuters reports that the American citizens flew from the Democratic Republic of Congo into Canada and tried to enter the U.S. through points of entry in New York and Vermont.

According to the article, the travelers had no symptoms consistent with Ebola -- and were deemed to not be at risk of of transmitting the disease.

Reuters points out there is no U.S. order preventing citizens from returning to the U.S. via land, although a “do-not-board” order issued this month requires U.S. citizens in Congo to quarantine for at least 21 days before they can return via a commercial flight. . . .

Reuters reports that a Pentagon official said Fort Drum accepted the families “to provide a temporary, isolated assessment facility and life ⁠support[?!],” and that they received medical evaluations from the CDC.

The article quoted a Fort Drum spokesperson as saying, “There is a unique, deeply personal significance when we are called to serve on the home front,” and that the Army’s 10th Mountain Division, stationed at the fort, is “prepared to step in whenever called upon by the Department of War. . . .”

R-i-i-i-i-ight [lipstick on a pig reply]. This. is. sheer. idiocy. Air restrictions are meaningless without land-travel-based ones -- and it is my estimation that neither one, nor both -- will prevent an ebola outbreak in the USA. Damnation.

नमस्ते

Merck Will Grant Royalty Free Licenses -- To Its Monthly HIV Pill Candidate, In Various Still Emerging Economies, Globally. Excellent!

From the go, alimatravir will be available as an "authorized generic" (mostly to be manufactured in India -- by Cipla, and by Aspen) at a fraction of the US and EU list prices in certain geographies dotting most of the still emerging economy / globe.

[It seems this will not in any way materially impact the very high margin once a week combo pills, soon to come from Merck and Gilead -- in the EU, US, Canada and Japan -- and so on. That perhaps $100,000 per year regimen is safe from all this. Essentially no one in that income bracket will fly to sub-Saharan Africa, and then try to sneak a one month supply in. Not when insurers will cover the pricier and longer acting (once a week) version.]

And so, Condor predicts. . . this may well become the new era model, for launching high burden disease therapies -- around the globe. Here's the latest, this morning, from Reuters reporting:

. . .Merck said on Friday it signed seven voluntary licensing agreements with generic drug manufacturers to make and sell lower-cost versions of its ‌experimental once-monthly oral HIV pill in 129 low- and lower-middle-income countries.

The drug, alimatravir, is currently in late-stage development. Merck said it is investing early in its product manufacturing capacity as trials continue. . . .

Merck said the agreements are with three sub-Saharan Africa manufacturers -- Aspen Pharmacare, Quality Chemical Industries and UCL -- and four ⁠Indian companies, which are Aurobindo, Cipla, Emcure and Viatris. The royalty-free agreements with these companies cover both the public and private sectors and will enable supply of generic alimatravir in these 129 countries that account for a substantial majority of new HIV diagnoses globally, the drugmaker said.

"This is the first time that sub-Saharan African manufacturers have been included in licenses from the very beginning." said Gregg Szabo, head of Merck's global vaccines and infectious diseases unit. Merck is still enrolling patients to test alimatravir, which is expected ‌to ⁠provide one month of protection from HIV-1 starting within one hour after dosing. . . .

Excellent news for cutting-edge therapeutic access -- where and when it is most needed. Onward, smiling after a great night out, last night.

नमस्ते

Likely The Last Word -- From Abrego Garcia's Lawyers -- On Voluntarily Heading To Costa Rica (Until 2028)...

This cannot be waved away, as incompetence and inattention, alone.

Mr. Lyons knows his boss is Mr. Mullin. But Lyons and Miller. . . don't like the Secretary's ruling. So they instruct the AUSAs / DoJ lawyers to ignore the Secretary's orders. Crazy. Here's that, in context:

. . .The Government concedes that Costa Rica remains willing to accept Abrego Garcia and even that, if the Government forcibly removes him to Liberia, he can “make his way to Costa R[i]ca.” Opp. 45–46.

The Government nevertheless asserts that removing Abrego Garcia directly to Costa Rica would be “prejudicial to the United States” and that the Lyons Memorandum -- issued by Todd Lyons, who lacked authority to make that determination -- constitutes a “formal, final determination” that ends judicial inquiry. Opp. 28–30. Yet the Government’s opposition entirely ignores that its own Secretary of Homeland Security testified before Congress that, if Abrego Garcia is willing to go to Costa Rica, “we’ll be happy to send him.” ECF No. 180 at 2.

The Government filed its opposition three weeks after that testimony, but never even acknowledges it, much less attempts to reconcile it with the Lyons Memorandum. The Government cannot ask this Court to treat the Lyons Memorandum as dispositive while ignoring the contrary public testimony of the official in whom Congress actually vested the relevant statutory authority.

Secretary Mullin’s testimony likewise reinforces the conclusion that the Government’s continued insistence on Liberia is punitive rather than directed toward the legitimate purpose of effectuating removal. . . .

What an upside down world this is: minor paper-pushers in Trumpworld saying their authority exceeds that of his Homeland Security Secretary. Which explains why the far right rags say Mullin may be on his way to being. . . cashiered. Insane.

नमस्ते

New And Valuable Data, On The Solar System's Most Extreme "Fire And Ice" Moon -- Way Out, At Io -- Courtesy Juno's Extended Mission Fly-Bys...

This all is due to the fact that the Biden administration authorized spending at NASA on an extended mission, for Juno. The speedy, twisty, copper colored craft was performing flawlessly, and so most of the added expense was just keeping great scientists on-board, here on Earth to direct operations, and monitor progress -- remotely. Very. . . remotely (at 400 million to 600 million miles out there -- into the night skies).

“Io provides a unique window into learning how tidal heating works throughout the cosmos, a fundamental process that provides energy and heat to worlds that are far from their parent star,” according to Scott Bolton, the study's coauthor and Juno’s principal investigator at Southwest Research Institute -- in San Antonio. Here's the latest, from NASA/JPL:

. . .NASA’s Juno mission has provided the first measurements of the temperature below the surface of Jupiter’s moon Io, revealing significant heating within the shallow subsurface of the most volcanically active world in the solar system. Collected during two close flybys, the data also shows that most of Io’s surface is remarkably smooth and composed of material of very low density.

Published Wednesday in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, these findings break new observational ground for both fiery and icy worlds beyond our planet.

Io’s extreme volcanism is powered by tidal heating. The moon is constantly stretched and squeezed by Jupiter’s immense gravity as it travels its slightly elliptical orbit, generating internal heat output many times greater than Earth’s. Until now, virtually everything known about that heat came from infrared observations, which sense only the temperature of the top surface. The latest findings are derived from data collected by the spacecraft’s Microwave Radiometer (MWR) instrument. . . .

Juno’s Microwave Radiometer was designed by Bolton to peer beneath Jupiter’s cloud tops to investigate the dynamics and composition of the gas giant’s deep atmosphere. The MWR’s six microwave antennas serve as a single instrument, simultaneously detecting microwaves at a wide range of wavelengths, from about half an inch to 20 inches (1.3 to 51 centimeters). During the mission’s extended phase, the MWR instrument has provided the opportunity to observe three of the planet’s Galilean moons: Ganymede, Europa, and Io. . . .

“The instrument measured Io’s thermal emission at depths ranging from a few inches down to tens of feet. Everywhere we looked, we found the temperature rising by more than 40 degrees Fahrenheit just several feet into the surface — a gradient far steeper than solar heating alone can explain,” said Shannon Brown, the paper’s lead author at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. . . .

While Io is not likely a good candidate for sub-surface ocean life, given these extremes -- certainly elsewhere in the Universe, where a smaller but temperate moon is endlessly warmed / heated by the "smushing" of a large planet's gravity -- even if very far from its host star, the moonlet could be a decent candidate for sub-surface water oceans -- and thus. . . life. Grinning widely, now -- as life is likely happening in billions upon billions of settings, throughout the cosmos. . . .

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Tangent: Oracle Laid Off 21,000 Workers Last Year; Dropped To Near Junk Status -- Now Faces A ~$7 Billion "Bond Posting" Bill -- In Port Washington, Wisconsin...

From time to time, we may offer updates on Mr. Ellison's company here -- just as we do for Mr. Bezos' and Mr. Musk's.

It is hard to see where Mr. Ellison thinks he can find about $40 billion in new financing -- to meet Oracle's commitments to OpenAI, in building and energizing vast data centers, for that company. So the stock has fallen by about 50% in the last year or so.

Here's more than a little bit of why I think that will be so.

[To be clear, I do not foresee any bankruptcy (or business cessations) for Oracle, but I do see it trimming its ambitious plans in the next two years -- causing further stock price erosion in the US.]

. . .Oracle is involved in a planned nearly one-gigawatt data center in Port Washington, Wisconsin, that is expected to help the company fulfill its [~$100 billion] OpenAI contract.

But the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin has declined to loosen financial safeguards designed to prevent residential electricity customers from bearing the costs if a massive data center fails or closes, according to the Financial Times.

Under We Energies' "very large customer" tariff, data center operators with an S&P credit rating below A- must provide collateral covering the power plants and transmission infrastructure constructed to serve them.

Oracle was rated BBB, two notches below the threshold, when the requirements were considered. S&P subsequently downgraded the company to BBB-, leaving it one notch above junk status. . . .

Onward into the warm sunshine -- on a mountain bike. Smile.

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