. . . .Docket # 305 | Motion to Enforce. . . .
. . .NASA is taking steps to potentially roll back the Artemis II rocket and Orion spacecraft to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida after overnight Feb. 21 observing interrupted flow of helium to the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket’s interim cryogenic propulsion stage. Teams are actively reviewing data, and taking steps to enable rollback positions for NASA to address the issue as soon as possible while engineers determine the best path forward. In order to protect for troubleshooting options at both Pad B and the VAB, teams are making preparations to remove the pad access platforms installed yesterday, which have wind-driven constraints and cannot be removed during high winds, which are forecasted for tomorrow.
The upper stage uses helium to maintain the proper environmental conditions for the stage’s engine and to pressurize liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellant tanks. The systems worked during NASA’s Artemis II wet dress rehearsals, but teams were not able to properly flow helium during normal operations and reconfigurations following the wet dress rehearsal that concluded Feb. 19. Operators are using a backup method to maintain the environmental conditions for the upper stage engines and the rocket, which remains in a safe configuration.
Teams are reviewing potential causes of the issue, including in the interface between ground and rocket lines used to route helium, in a valve in the upper stage, and with a filter between the ground and rocket. They also are reviewing data from Artemis I in which teams had to troubleshoot helium-related pressurization of the upper stage before launch.
A rollback would mean NASA will not launch Artemis II in the March launch window. However, the quick preparations enable NASA to potentially preserve the April launch window if a rollback is required, pending the outcome of data findings, repair efforts, and how the schedule comes to fruition in the coming days and weeks. . . .
. . .A retrospective analysis from Hangzhou, China, examined 104 laboratory-confirmed mpox cases. . . and compared mpox-HIV coinfection with mpox monoinfection. The investigators also matched HIV monoinfection cases 1:1 with mpox-HIV coinfections to explore differences and potential risk factors.
Mpox-HIV coinfection was associated with greater symptom burden. Lesion pain was reported more often in coinfected patients than in those with mpox alone (67.39% versus 39.66%). All 27 hospitalizations in the cohort, including one intensive care admission, occurred in the coinfected group, highlighting a clear severity signal in this setting.
Most coinfected patients were already receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) (97.83%), yet immune suppression remained common. Up to 28.26% had CD4 positive T cell counts at or below 350 cells per microliter, and lower CD4 counts were associated with more severe clinical manifestations and higher hospitalization.
The study also identified behavioral factors that clustered with mpox-HIV coinfection. High risk sexual behaviors, including multiple sexual partners and frequent sexual activity, were associated with coinfection status. The authors argue these patterns support integrating surveillance and prevention strategies for HIV and mpox in higher risk groups. . . .
. . .CHICAGO — Following the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the Trump tariffs were imposed illegally, Governor JB Pritzker sent a letter and invoice to the president, demanding the return of the $8.6 billion he stole from Illinois families.
Read the full letter and invoice at right. . . .
. . .IEEPA does not authorize the President to impose tariffs. The judgment in No. 24–1287 is vacated, and the case is remanded with instructions to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction; the judgment in No. 25–250 is affirmed. . . .
[Gorsuch -- concurrence:] . . .The problem for the dissent [Kavanaugh, Alito & Thomas, here] is that none of this is relevant here. Before us, the President concedes that he does not enjoy independent Article II authority to impose tariffs in peacetime. Ante, at 18–19. Nor does the President claim “‘concurrent’” constitutional authority to issue his tariffs. Ante, at 13 (citing Tr. of Oral Arg. 70–71). Instead, and to his credit, the President admits the power to authorize tariffs in peacetime is constitutionally vested in “Congress alone.” Ante, at 13 (internal quotation marks omitted). Therefore, the President relies entirely on power derived from Congress, and that means the major questions doctrine applies in the normal way. . . .
Because of this problem, the dissent must argue for a much broader “foreign affairs” qualification to the major questions doctrine. Rather than ask whether an independent, constitutionally vested presidential power is implicated, the dissent would have us ask instead whether the President seeks to use the statute in question for a foreign affairs purpose -- for example, as a “too[l]” to “incentivize a change in behavior by allies. . . or enemies.” Post, at 50. When he does, the dissent submits, the major questions doctrine should not apply. And that’s true, the dissent continues, even if the power the President asserts has “significant domestic ramifications.” Post, at 51. . . .
This new exception to the major questions doctrine would have (enormous) consequences hard to reconcile with the Constitution. Article I, §8, vests in Congress many powers that touch on “foreign affairs.” Some of those powers were expected to be (and are) the “principal objects of federal legislation.” The Federalist No. 53, p. 333 (C. Rossiter ed. 1961) (J. Madison). They include not only the power to impose tariffs, cl. 1, but also the power to establish uniform rules of naturalization, cl. 4, appropriate money for armies, cl. 12, and define and punish offenses against the law of nations, cl. 10.
Under the dissent’s view, all these legislative powers and more could be passed wholesale to the executive branch in a few loose statutory terms, no matter what domestic ramifications might follow. And, as we have seen, Congress would often find these powers nearly impossible to retrieve. . . .
. . .TEXT ORDER:
Further to the Court's Order issued today, and for the reasons discussed on the record, as pertains to the discovery issue presented in Section 20 of the Revised Final Pretrial Order:
(1) Plaintiff shall set forth its position, including the specific discovery it seeks, in a letter memorandum to the Court (not to exceed ten double-spaced pages), by March 16, 2026;
(2) Defendant shall respond (not to exceed ten double-spaced pages) by April 9, 2026; and
(3) Plaintiff may reply (not to exceed three double-spaced pages) by April 16, 2026.
As regards discovery concerning replacement witnesses in Section 6D of the Revised Final Pretrial Order, no party seeks a custodial production, and the parties agree to limit such discovery to a deposition of the replacement witness. Upon resolution of the anticipated in limine motions, the parties will meet and confer to establish a deposition schedule for the replacement witnesses.
So Ordered by Magistrate Judge Michael A. Hammer on 2/19/2026. . . .
. . .11:11 a.m. EST
Teams in the firing room at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center are experiencing an issue with ground communications and have moved to backup communication methods to maintain safe audio command and control. The launch director has decided to maintain the current vehicle state, continuing the liquid oxygen fast fill, but delaying moving into liquid hydrogen fast fill, while engineers troubleshoot the issue. . . .
11:45 a.m. EST
Normal communications have been restored, and NASA teams have made the decision to transition to fast fill of the SLS rocket’s core stage with super-cold liquid hydrogen. Core stage liquid oxygen remains in fast fill.
Fast fill rapidly loads hundreds of thousands of gallons of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen into their core stage tanks. During this process, teams also monitor for leaks and conduct engine bleed procedures to thermally condition the RS-25 engines for launch. Once fast fill is complete, operations will move to topping and replenish phases.
Up next, teams will start chilling down the liquid hydrogen tank on the interim cryogenic propulsion stage – or the upper stage – of SLS. . . .
So. . . Martin Shkreli has (through counsel) filed more papers in Brooklyn -- this time claiming to properly make the Wu- parties part of the PleasrDAO action. [I won't link them, as they badly misstate the law and facts of the case.] Even if these papers do that, his claim is now for indemnity (from the Wu-) for disputes about the "ownership" of the work.
That theory would be heard solely and exclusively at a "Mad Hatter's Tea Party". When Martin failed to pay the over $8 million he owed in criminal fines and forfeitures (as a result of three felony convictions), from his cash -- the able USDC Judge ordered his assets seized, and sold -- by operation of law. Not by contract -- by law. "All right, title and interest" in and to the Wu-. That is what was sold. And then resold, to PleasrDAO. There was nothing wrongful about the following of the court's order.
Martin could have avoided all this, had he come up with the $8 million he then owed. But he chose (again!) to stiff a judgment creditor -- this time, the federal government. Bad idea.
So he clearly lost every right he could ever have claimed in and to the Wu- work: box, IP, recorded voices -- and all. There is no reversionary interest left for him. And it is a complete fiction to claim otherwise. Federal judgments cut off contract claims. And his is a contract claim for indemnity (and the supposed 50% reversion). Silly stuff, Marty.
In any event, here is Bloomberg Law ($$ subs. req.) on it all:
. . .Convicted hedge fund manager Martin Shkreli said two Wu-Tang Clan rappers are contractually committed to fund his defense -- and any judgment against him -- in a trade secrets case over the group’s one-of-a-kind album.
Robert “RZA” Diggs and Tarik “Cilvaringz” Azzourgarh must indemnify Shkreli in any case arising from his ownership of “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin” under a 2015 purchase agreement, he told the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York in a third-party complaint filed Tuesday.
Shkreli previously failed to add the rappers as necessary plaintiffs and as counterclaim defendants in the suit initiated by investor group PleasrDAO. . . .
. . .According to the ruling, by Judge Laura M. Provinzino of Federal District Court in Minnesota, the government failed to return “identification documents” belonging to Rigoberto Soto Jimenez, a detained immigrant whom she had ordered to be released with all of his property returned. The judge ordered a $500 daily fine imposed on Matthew Isihara, an administration lawyer, for each day the documents are not returned, beginning on Friday. . . .
. . .The bodies of eight skiers killed during an avalanche were found during a rescue effort late Tuesday in California near Lake Tahoe. Six skiers from their party survived and were evacuated, while one member of the group remains missing and presumed dead in what is already the deadliest avalanche in modern California history. . . .
The skiers, including four guides, had been finishing up a three-day backcountry expedition in a rugged but popular recreational area near Castle Peak. The six survivors were able to use a combination of emergency beacons and iPhone S.O.S. functions to contact rescuers, who braved treacherous conditions to reach them. . . .
. . .With respect to the three loan agreements executed between the Build America Bureau (the “Bureau”) and GDC under the Railroad Rehabilitation Improvement Financing (“RRIF”) program, all outstanding reimbursement requests totaling $30,207,203 were paid on Friday, February 13. . . .
With respect to the Federal Transit Administration (“FTA”) grant agreements executed between FTA and GDC under the Capital Improvements Grant (“CIG”) program, GDC had $66,542,105 in outstanding reimbursement requests. On Friday, February 13, FTA approved the full $66,542,105 and transmitted this payment to Treasury. Treasury is processing the request. We understand that GDC should receive payment today or tomorrow. . . .
With respect to the Federal Railroad Administration (“FRA”) grant agreement between FRA and GDC under the Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail (“FSP”) program, GDC had $136,724,429 in outstanding reimbursement requests. On Friday, February 13, FRA approved $8.8 million, which covers the first of five invoices GDC submitted, and transmitted this payment to Treasury. We understand that GDC should receive the payment today or tomorrow. The remaining four invoices of approximately $128 million were approved Friday evening and were sent to Treasury today at 2:30 PM. We understand that GDC should receive the payment tomorrow or Thursday, February 19, 2026. . . .
. . .Merck and Mayo Clinic, the world's top-ranked hospital system, today announced a research and development agreement to apply artificial intelligence (AI), advanced analytics and multimodal clinical data to support drug discovery and development. The agreement integrates Mayo Clinic's Platform architecture as well as clinical and genomic datasets with Merck's ambition to harness AI-enabled virtual cell technologies to enhance disease understanding, improve target identification and drive early development decisions. . . .
"New cutting-edge technologies are enhancing our ability to innovate with the potential to bring important new therapies to patients faster. By working with Mayo Clinic, we aim to integrate high-quality clinical data and AI-enabled insights into discovery research to improve target identification and, ultimately, the probability of success for our programs," said Robert M. Davis, chairman and CEO, Merck.
"By combining Mayo Clinic Platform's de-identified data, clinical expertise and Platform technology with Merck's world-class research and development capabilities, we are poised to speed innovative breakthroughs to patients and redefine drug development," said Gianrico Farrugia, M.D., president and CEO, Mayo Clinic. "This collaboration represents a new present and future for healthcare -- one where platform-based collaboration leads to more answers, more cures and better outcomes for patients worldwide. . . ."
. . .The matter at ECF No. 112 is now ripe for resolution. For the reasons stated below, the Court grants Abrego Garcia’s request to convert the TRO to one for injunctive relief and clarifies that the Court’s habeas relief includes enjoining his re-detention under Zadvydas and its progeny, as previously articulated. . . .
To read the order otherwise, as [Noemites] Respondents suggest, would indeed rewrite the history of this case. It would restart Respondents “removal period” pursuant to § 1231, and by extension, eviscerate the removal period and the six years when Respondents did nothing to effectuate third-country removal. See ECF No. 110 at 7–14. Respondents reading would also conveniently erase this last year of Abrego Garcia’s detention and count none of it as relevant to the Zadvydas analysis. Because a “now for then” order cannot alter substantive rights or rewrite history, the Court must reject Respondents’ arguments. . . .
As to what this means for Abrego Garcia’s continued release, it secures rather than undermines it. The Court had previously articulated the many reasons why the teachings of Zadvydas demanded release. ECF No. 110 at 25–30. Those reasons, and the factual underpinnings for them, squarely apply now that Abrego Garcia has a final order of removal and withholding of removal to El Salvador as of November 2019. The Court incorporates the reasons articulated at ECF No. 110. . . .
. . .One of the Trump administration’s most vocal defenders of its aggressive immigration crackdown is leaving as public opinion sours against the hardline approach, according to two DHS officials familiar with the move.
Tricia McLaughlin, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s spokesperson, is expected to inform colleagues Tuesday about her plans, according to the officials. She’s leaving DHS next week. . . .
A former top communications aide to Vivek Ramaswamy’s 2024 presidential campaign and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, McLaughlin started planning to leave in December but delayed her departure amid the aftermath of the Renee Good and Alex Pretti shootings, according to the people briefed on her exit. (They were granted anonymity to speak about internal personnel matters.) In the instance of Good, McLaughlin was quick to characterize her actions as an example of “domestic terrorism”. . . . [That was immediately proven false by multiple cell-phone video captures, in near real time. She was a mom (with her partner) who dropped her daughter off, at school -- and got caught in the middle. That much is clear.]
And the same very much obtains, in the vast majority of warrantless detentions, up in Minneapolis -- see last week's ruling, by the capable USDC Judge Donovan Frank, there.
Do take a look, here:
. . .A district court may provide habeas relief to a person who is being detained in violation of the Constitution or laws of the United States. 28 U.S.C. § 2241(c)(3). That authority includes jurisdiction to hear habeas challenges to immigration-related detention. Zadvydas v. Davis, 533 U.S. 678, 687 (2001); Deng Chol A. v. Barr, 455 F. Supp. 3d 896, 900-01 (D. Minn. 2020). The burden is on the petitioner to prove illegal detention by a preponderance of the evidence. SeeMohammed H. v. Trump, 786 F. Supp. 3d 1149, 1154 (D. Minn. 2025). Respondents submitted a form response, arguing that Petitioner is subject to mandatory detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2)(A), and pointing the Court to their arguments in a pending Eighth Circuit case: Avila v. Bondi, No. 25-3248. As this Court has explained on multiple occasions, Respondents’ interpretation of § 1225 contradicts the plain language of the statute. See Jose L.M.S. v. Bondi, No. 26-cv-474, 2026 WL 185066, at *2 (D. Minn. Jan. 25, 2026); Omar E.F.G. v. Bondi, No. 26-cv-451, 2026 WL 184571, at *2 (D. Minn. Jan. 23, 2026); Victor S.M. v. Noem, No. 26-cv-400, 2026 WL 161445, at *2 (D. Minn. Jan. 21, 2026). Section 1225 applies to “applicants for admission” -- noncitizens who are either “present in the United States who ha[ve] not been admitted or who arrive[] in the United States.” 8 U.S.C. § 1225(a)(1). Section 1226 applies where § 1225 is inapplicable and provides immigration judges with the discretion to grant release on bond to noncitizens subject to removal proceedings. See id. § 1226(a). Here, Petitioner is not an arriving noncitizen because he has been in the United States for over three years. See Jennings v. Rodriguez, 583 U.S. 281, 289 (2018) (noting that § 1226(a) applies to “certain aliens already in the country”).
Petitioner is therefore subject to the discretionary bond provisions of § 1226(a), not the mandatory bond provisions of § 1225(b)(2). Having found that Petitioner is being detained unlawfully, the question becomes the correct remedy. A detainee being held pursuant to § 1226(a), as Petitioner is here, must have been served an arrest warrant prior to detention. . . .
As this Court has explained on multiple occasions, Respondents’ interpretation of § 1225 contradicts the plain language of the statute. . . . [Habeas granted -- detainee, released forthwith.]
. . .Defendants are ordered to lift all conditions of release and to refund bond for any individuals who have been previously released pursuant to the Decree so that these individuals are released on their own recognizance without bond or conditions of release as required by Section IV(E)(2) of the Decree. . . .
For the reasons stated on the record, the Broadcast Statement of Policy, (Dckt. #155-1 at 18-20), remains in effect. No later than February 18, 2026, defendants shall re-circulate the Broadcast Statement of Policy to all ICE agents nationwide by email and they shall advise the agents that the Broadcast remains in effect as the ICE policy governing warrantless arrests until further notification by DHS and ICE. . . .
In their February 20, 2026 certification, defendants are further ordered to provide more complete answers to the following questions that were posed to defense counsel during the February 13, 2026 hearing on plaintiffs’ motions to enforce: (1) state whether ICE agents and Customs and Border Protection agents worked together in mixed teams to effectuate individual arrests of foreign nationals during Operation Midway Blitz; (2) state whether ICE has knowledge of a foreign national’s “A number” at the time ICE issues a Notice to Appear in conjunction with an I-200 warrant to effectuate a targeted arrest of that foreign national; and (3) state whether ICE has probable cause to believe that a foreign national is removable from the United States at the time ICE issues an I-200 warrant to effectuate the arrest of that foreign national. . . .
. . .Sequencing the genome of mpox viruses taken from the infected [monkeys] revealed the circulating strain was nearly identical to one isolated from a small rodent found dead three months earlier, a fire-footed rope squirrel.
The team then moved on to examining monkey droppings they had collected in the months leading up to the outbreak (the surveillance in Taï National Park is truly thorough). In one sample collected eight weeks before the outbreak, they found the DNA of the virus, alongside DNA from a fire-footed rope squirrel. . . .
. . .WHO confirmed that two cases of the recombinant strain – combining genomic elements of clades Ib and IIb of the monkeypox virus (MPXV) -- have been identified to date: one in the United Kingdom and one in India. Both patients had recent travel histories, and neither experienced severe illness.
No secondary cases were detected following contact tracing. . . .
[This is a biological] process that can occur when two related viruses infect the same person and exchange genetic material, producing a new variant. . . .
According to WHO, detailed genomic analysis shows the two individuals “fell ill several weeks apart with the same recombinant strain,” suggesting that additional undetected cases may exist. . . .
. . .NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 mission launched at 5:15 a.m. EST on Friday, Feb. 13, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft carrying NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev to the orbiting laboratory is targeted to dock at 3:12 p.m. on Saturday. Live mission coverage begins at 1:15 p.m. . . .
The εpsilon mission name embodies the essence of small, yet impactful, contributions.
In mathematics, ε denotes a small quantity, much like an astronaut's role in the vastness of spaceflight.
In astronomy, it represents the fifth-brightest star in a constellation. . . .
. . .In recent months, Google, Reddit, Discord and Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, have received hundreds of administrative subpoenas from the Department of Homeland Security, according to four government officials and tech employees privy to the requests. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Google, Meta and Reddit complied with some of the requests, the government officials said. In the subpoenas, the department asked the companies for identifying details of accounts that do not have a real person’s name attached and that have criticized ICE or pointed to the locations of ICE agents. The New York Times saw two subpoenas that were sent to Meta over the last six months.
The tech companies, which can choose whether or not to provide the information, have said they review government requests before complying. Some of the companies notified the people whom the government had requested data on and gave them 10 to 14 days to fight the subpoena in court. . . .
