After A Weekend Of Olympic Tri- Cheering, We Are Back At It -- From An Airport -- DRC's Ebola Situation Has Grown Much Worse, In Just A Week.

While I was off-grid last week, most Western journalists reduced the count of Ebola cases -- and deaths, in Africa. They did so, because WHO is now only counting cases confirmed by Western-style diagnostic testing.

But several hundreds were buried, without any intervention -- before the outbreak was declared -- and so no testing will ever occur, on those -- as "Great Death has made them his, forevermore¹". These long-departed are almost certainly Ebola victims. [Thus our graphic this morning, cobbled together by phone, from the airport -- attempts to true the results up.]

Even so, the official count of cases is now 515.

Before I left, the very reasonably suspected cases stood at over 1,100 -- mostly in the gold mining (and strife torn) districts in remote eastern Ituri province -- Democratic Republic of the Congo. Today it is certainly much higher.

And so -- to be clear -- for our part, our graphics will include the suspected cases -- so we now show over 1,615. Because that is the most likely truth -- and deaths are at over 310, based on similar logic.

This is likely to end as the second worst outbreak in recorded history for ebola -- with only the 2012 to 2014 one recording more cases and deaths. [Thanks, Elon and Donald!] Here is Reuters, reporting on the latest, overnight:

. . .Democratic Republic of ‌Congo said on Sunday that the number of ⁠confirmed Ebola cases had increased to 515 after 27 new samples ‌tested ⁠positive in the previous 24 hours.

The confirmed ⁠cases include 91 deaths, ⁠government data showed. . . .

Obviously, DRC officials are now likely willing to under-report, so as not to kill their inter-country economies. [Afterall, nothing more may be done -- for what Charles Hamilton Sorley called "the mouthless dead".] But the truth is -- and will be -- far worse. Trust that.

Back in the Chi-, by tonight. . . and -- a few thumbnails of the weekend's shenanigans.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_{1. "When You See Millions of the Mouthless Dead" Charles Hamilton Sorley (1915)}

नमस्ते

In The Specious Reparations Challenge, Evanston Will Prove The Fitton-Shills Blew The Statute Of Limitations.

This will all be rather droll.

The Fitton shills filed their purported federal suit over a year too late, it seems -- in addition to having apparently never lived or owned property or paid taxes in Evanston -- during the relevant time period.

We will keep you apprised; trust that. One of many of my prior backgrounders is here.

Onward -- now mid-air, to Eugene (finally!) -- after various weather delays in the central mountains. Early water start in the morning, in tie dyed tees! Woot!

नमस्ते

Here, Tangerine 2.0 Tries To Pretend That Admin. Law Judges May Rule Over Art. III Federal Court Judges. Nope.

I won't quote any of it, but yesterday, DHS and ICE lawyers filed some nonsense -- to stave off the inevitable, in USDC Judge Xinis' courtroom in Maryland.

This 28 pager claims that an administrative law judge friendly to Tangerine 2.0, who rewrote a 2019 final order of NON-removability, into a 2026 order of purported "immediate" removal -- only after Abrego had won his freedom -- controls, over both USDC Judge Crenshaw in Nashville and Judge Xinis' contrary orders. [And by implication, the prior US Supreme Court order of last summer.]

That is. . . simply silly.

But the government takes 28 pages to argue about how many lawyers might stand on the head of a pin -- trying to avoid producing the documents that prove Todd Blanche himself was acting with improper (racist) motives, in trying to keep Abrego Garcia locked up, and/or deported to Sudan, or Liberia -- after kidnapping him to an El Salvador torture prison.

This unhinged idiocy will fail. Trust that. Abrego will be able to prove his case of boxcar damages -- from these documents. Trust that, as well.

Onward -- to more mountain fun with my 92 year old mom

नमस्ते

Some More Pink Slips At Merck -- Already Expected...

So the $3 billion restructuring cuts continue -- as previously disclosed -- at various Merck EAst Coast facilities.

Here's the latest, from Fierce yesterday:

. . .More biopharma layoffs are hitting New Jersey, this time from Merck & Co., in the latest phase of headcount reductions attributed to its $3 billion cost-cutting plan announced last July.

The latest layoffs are touching the company’s global headquarters in Rahway. In total, some 88 staffers who report to Merck's home base will face job cuts in September, according to a recent Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notice filed with the state of New Jersey.

“Today, Merck initiated the next phase of personnel impacts related to its multiyear optimization, as announced in July 2025,” a company spokesperson told Fierce Pharma in an emailed statement. . . .

Now you know. More mountain fun ahead today -- under flawless skies. Woot!

नमस्ते

Tangent: High Altitude Crash — For Bitcoin…

Two and a half years ago -- in Spring '24, he pointed out that the parabolic upswings in Bitcoin spot prices. . . were over.

He was clearly right — after it reached $126,000 in October 2025 — he plainly said, "look out below".

Very few of the bigger Bitcoin bulls listened to him.

After tonight, I think they will.

Bitcoin is trading below $65,600 tonight — and down to $59,900 on the late evening of June 5 — threatening the February 2024 “Ice Age” lows.

Onward. . . from 10,200 feet -- in elevation, tonight.

The June skies -- up in this thin air: majestic. Simply majestic.

नमस्ते

There Have Already Been 22 Mpox Cases In Western Australia So Far In 2026; With Seven In The Last Week...

The rumblings continue -- widely, across the globe -- now into a third elapsed year. If you are in the high risk communities, do get both vaccine doses ASAP.

Here's more on that, from the erstwhile Robert Herriman, a microbiologist, and editor in chief of the Outbreak News Today website on Substack:

. . .There have been 22 Mpox cases reported in Western Australia so far in 2026, compared with 27 cases for the whole year 2025 and 23 cases in 2024.

Nineteen cases were acquired-locally, and three were acquired-overseas. Two of the cases notified this year were cisgender women, a first in WA. Another two notifications were in heterosexual men.

Dr Paul Armstrong, Director Communicable Disease Control said the Department was working closely with affected individuals and contacts to help prevent further spread of the virus.

“Mpox is a viral infection that typically causes mild illness, including fever, headache, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes or fatigue, followed by a skin rash or lesions,” Dr Armstrong said. . . .

Now you know -- and with that, I'm mostly off-grid -- until this coming Friday night, minimum. Smile.

नमस्ते

Final Mirror Inspection Complete -- For Nancy Grace Roman 'Scope's Coming Fall '26 Launch: Per Goddard / NASA.

At bottom, we've posted a YouTube video explainer of this last inspection event -- before she becomes "humanity's eyes" into the vast inky deep of the wide cosmos.

And at right is one of our dozens of legacy graphics -- for this fine, long-planned mission space telescope. Here's the latest on the final confirm, that her "eyes" are. . . 20/20 [or better, in fact]:

. . .The primary mirror for NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope has passed its final inspection. On May 20 and 21, engineers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., confirmed that no specks fell onto the mirrors during testing and that there are no defects in the coating or alignment. With this milestone complete, the primary mirror is ready for its next view: space. . . .

“The Roman engineering team laid eyes on the telescope for the final time before it, in turn, becomes the eyes of humanity, revealing the wonders of the cosmos,” said J. Scott Smith, the Roman telescope manager at NASA Goddard. “It is a profoundly humbling moment to witness the culmination of hard work from so many dedicated individuals, teams, and partner organizations, including L3Harris.”

On May 20, engineers turned the Roman observatory onto its side and deployed the “hood” that will be stowed for launch to protect the mirror. Then the team conducted a meticulous visual inspection to ensure no specks fell onto the mirrors during testing and confirm there are no changes in the mirror path and alignment. . . .

Onward, to a baby ice skating "recital", this afternoon. . . smile.

नमस्ते

Flores Litigation Update: Holding A 12- And 14-Year Old -- Against Their Will For Over 9 Days, Incommunicado, In Hotel Rooms (Without Outdoor Rec Time)... Amounts To Kidnapping -- And Torture.

It is once again the case, that the US government agents have been ommitting material facts from sworn filings related to children being retained on immigration matters, and then sent to the Dilley holding facility/prison. [Notably, were these ADULT criminal accuseds, they could not be held more than 48 hours, without right to a lawyers' phone call, and/or formal charges. This was over nine DAYS -- for children, on an entirely CIVIL matter. Sheesh.]

There will come a time, when all these agents will be cashiered -- at a minimum -- and some will face perjury charges. Lying to make Tangerine 2.0 look better, in his and Stephen Miller's designed cruelty to children. . . is deplorable. Here's the latest out of the class action that has persisted in LA, since the time of Ron Reagan:

. . .In their Notice, [Tangerine 2.0] Defendants disclose for the first time that “the Hotel Report shows all class members who stayed for over 72 hours in a hotel or hotels, including data of minors who were held consecutively in multiple hotels for over 72 hours, and for whom their entire stay in ICE custody was in hotels. . . .”

Based on their filings, Defendants are, and have been, excluding children detained in hotels for over 72 hours from the Hotel Report and the Juvenile Coordinator’s analysis simply because the child was transferred to the Dilley family detention center or another ICE custodial placement. . . .

The Corrected Hotel Report [Doc. # 1783-2] therefore still omits the nine-day hotel detention of 12-year-old M.M.S. and 14-year-old C.M.S, presumably because they were subsequently transferred to Dilley. Plaintiffs have raised this specific case with Defendants multiple times since early April, including in court filings, and Defendants have yet to provide either Plaintiffs or the Court with any explanation for holding these children nearly incommunicado in a hotel room for nine days without access to counsel or the outdoors. See Pls.’ Response at 13; Plaintiffs’ Opposition to Defendants’ Motion to Reconsider at 7, 9-10, May 1, 2026. . . .

Defendants’ unilateral decision to withhold information regarding the prolonged hotel detention of class members because they were also detained at another ICE placement is plainly inconsistent with the Court’s April 3, 2026, order. . . .

Damnation. Who. . . are these feckless losers?

[And as to a blogging forecast: I will be off grid in the high Rockies starting early manaña, until next Monday -- with a push further westward, to watch more olympic tri- racing, on the weekend in the woods, about a half hour outside Eugene, Oregon. Keep it spinnin' in good karma -- one, and all!]

नमस्ते

More Proof That ICE/CBP And DHS Agents Regularly Lie To Federal Judges, In Under Oath Filings And Live Testimony -- USDC Judge Cummings Orders The Immediate Release Of "JCC", Overnight.

"JCC" is to be released without bail, bond or any other condition -- by Monday. What a pack of a-holes these Noem-hired ICE/DHS agents are (just like Greg Bovino before them, last summer).

[While I have retained a full PDF of USDC Judge Cumming's current order, here -- I will not link it, as malign forces could glean enough detail about JCC so as to lawlessly re-arrest him, or even -- in the case of some known private militias -- maim or kill him. Trust me: that order from yesterday in Chicago. . . reads as below.] Consider this:

. . .JCC did not attempt to flee [contrary to the CBP agents' statements, filed in court -- and thus, under oath] as the CBP agents approached and the agents were not compelled to chase him to arrest him [the body cam footage of JCC's "arrest" shows almost exactly the opposite]. . . .

[P]laintiffs have shown that he is entitled to relief.

JCC was doing landscaping work on a valuable piece of equipment when the agents encountered him. Contrary to the I-213, JCC did not attempt to flee when the agents ran towards him. Instead, he was cooperative and answered the agents’ questions to their satisfaction. It is also clear that the agents were not worried that JCC (a 63-year-old) would escape because they uncuffed him to allow him to relieve himself. Moreover, as courts have consistently held, the fact that JCC is in the country without documentation to be here legally does not provide probable cause that he was an escape risk. Finally, the handwritten I-200 warrant states that it was served on JCC in Broadview, which is consistent with the I-213’s statement that JCC was arrested in a public place without a warrant and supportive of a finding that the I-200 did not exist at the time JCC was arrested. [Ed. Note: doing paid yard / landscaping work will never be probable cause, in the US to arrest someone on ANY immigration matter, ever. See, Arizona v. United States, 567 U.S. 387 (2012); and Margarito Castanon Nava v. DHS, here.]

For these reasons, the Court finds that plaintiffs have proven by a preponderance of the evidence that the CBP agents subjected JCC to a warrantless arrest without probable cause that he posed a risk of escape before a warrant could be obtained. Accordingly, JCC is entitled to relief under the Consent Decree, and he shall be released without bond and without conditions no later than noon on Monday, June 1, 2026. Defendants shall certify their compliance with the terms of this Order by Wednesday, June 3, 2026. . . .

These miscreants are simply lying crooks, with badges -- for the moment, only. This too will end -- with many of these abusive agents on trial for perjury, before the Chicago federal courts. Onward, resolutely.

नमस्ते

Massachusetts, Generally -- And Boston, Specifically -- Sees An Uptick In Mpox Cases: Thus, Free Vaccines, At Pride Events Throughout June 2026.

This is regrettable -- but clearly needed. We need public outreach and on-site vaccination trucks -- in Boston, Chicago, Houston, SF, LA and NYC among many other locales, this June. . . .

Public awareness campaigns, from private NGOs, and state level agencies -- are having to fill the gaps created by the Musk / DOGE / Tangerine 2.0 malfeasance and budget-cutting in federal public health resources.

Despite all of that, Pride Month is a particularly-apt moment, for these efforts, as the outbreaks rumble ever onward, through at-risk communities.

Here's that, out of local TV News, in Boston overnight:

. . .Mpox vaccinations will be available at the Pride flag-raising at [Boston's] City Hall on June 1 on the 3rd Floor Mezzanine from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Additional clinics will be hosted with city partners throughout the summer; dates will be available at boston.gov/vaccine as they are scheduled.

Mpox vaccinations are also currently available at Mass General Hospital, Boston Medical Center and Fenway Health. Recently, numerous pharmacies in Boston have also begun administering mpox vaccine. . . .

And again, perhaps as many as 32 of 33 current cases are. . . undiagnosed -- but circulating in secret, around the nation -- due in no small part to Trump's demonizing of the afflicted.

People are (reasonably) afraid to admit their viral status -- sometimes, even at private clinics. Damnation -- what a backwards time. [Not entirely unlike the early days of AIDS, under Ronnie Reagan -- 1980-85.]

नमस्ते

Rocketry, At Interplanetary Scales... Is Hard. Very Hard. Sorry, Jeff Bezos.

As many have already read -- and watched -- Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin suffered an on pad explosion yesterday -- never clearing the tower.

I wish that effort no ill, but this is perhaps (along with Elon's manifold launch / orbit failures). . . a sobering lesson.

This is not any old school Estes model rocketry class. And these disasters spew toxic waste for many miles around. The race between Musk and Bezos, as to which of them will first put "commercial" boots on Mars. . . as we've said before -- is largely a silly one.

There is simply very scant real reason to send humans to Barsoom -- at all. The real science (almost every bit of it) may be more economically and safely done -- with robotics and autonomous vehicles -- and helicopters, out on Mars.

These are immutable facts. There will be no surreptitiously discovered -- but to now, wholly-hidden "ruins" of a some long past sentient civilization to explore -- that is an Edgar Rice Burroughs fantasy, exclusively.

Now, there may be evidence, already, in the Perseverance core samples -- of past microbial life. But those tubes may be brought home with a robotic helicopter mission. Forgive me the vulgar turn of phrase, but in my opinion -- this is (mostly) a pair of billionaires, in a pissing- / d!ck-waggling contest. Nothing more. Ugh.

And the failure / event has badly damaged US government / NASA launch facilities at Cape Kennedy. Damn -- here's that story, with the attending video snippet, below the pull quote:

. . .A New Glenn rocket exploded at Cape Canaveral during a launch pad test firing on Thursday, May 28, 2026. The U.S. Space Force said there were no injuries at the Florida space port following the incident.

The rocket was being prepared for a launch carrying a batch of satellites for Amazon's Leo internet constellation. The satellites were not on rocket for the launch pad static fire.

The explosion at Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station caused extensive damage to the launch pad facility, toppling one of the 600-feet high lightning towers. . . .

Dammit -- guys, give it a rest. You may soon get several people killed, with this nonsense.

नमस्ते

Yup. See Ya’, Slush Fund! TRO Entered, In Virginia USDC...

Well, this is good news!

Yup — his corrupt $1.8 billion slush fund plan. . . is toast.

Here's a bit of the brief but correct order:

. . .ORDERED that defendants be and are ENJOINED from taking any further action pursuant to the creation or operation of the Anti-Weaponization Fund, which includes the transferring of money to the Fund; the consideration of any claims submitted to the Fund; and the disbursing of any funds from the Fund. . . .

Onward. As expected -- now you know.

नमस्ते

I Am Not A Huge Fan Of "AI-In-The-Wild". But Using -- And Controlling It, In The Below Manner... Seems Sensible To Me.

In sum, if one builds solid paddocks, and operates from an "it is just another tool" in the system architecture point-of-view. . . I think it can be helpful.

But one must likely invest billions, first (as Merck has) -- to build both the plumbing, and the guard-rails -- to prevent it from "wilding / slopping / hallucinating" in any final product or document. And human beings -- with deep experience and critical eyes -- must closely review all its output. That's a given.

Specifically, note that Merck is seeing it as being most-effective, in writing FDA compliant marketing materials, with a 99% accuracy experience. [It seems far less useful, in discovering and designing actual chemical entities -- i.e., drugs.] Why? Because that process relies on. . . the creativity of a very very experienced mind, or set of minds -- after exploring and abandoning perhaps thousands of blind alleys.

We shall see. In any event, here is the slightly-breathless piece, in a tech mag booster report:

. . .Merck’s plumbing-first strategy comes from lessons learned during the early days of cloud in the 2010s “when nobody knew what the heck was going on,” Finnerty said.

Getting the cloud right meant building from the ground up; at Merck, that infrastructure now supports 2,500 AWS accounts, numerous Microsoft Azure subscriptions, and new Google Cloud Platform (GCP) integrations.

“AI is gonna be the same exact thing,” Finnerty said. “We're going to have thousands and thousands of agents.” The questions then pile up: How do you register them? How do you secure them? How do you ensure they're connected to the right tools, and have access to the right data and the right context?

Context delivery is also critical; Merck works with three hyperscalers and has forty-seven edge locations and hundreds of databases. “Many, many petabytes” of structured and unstructured data are stored in Oracle databases, SQL databases, Excel spreadsheets, phone transcripts, and other repositories, Finnerty said. . . .

His team is building scaffolding to deliver meaningful context in various situations, he explained. Data must be organized and ingested into various platforms, because “there’s no one solution to solve every single problem.” Sometimes it's Databricks, other times it's Amazon Redshift, “plus four other things. . . .”

It is cool that both Amazon and Oracle win shout-outs, in the VentureBeat piece. Heh. Onward, smiling -- just the same.

नमस्ते

TRO Entered In Kenya, Until Next Week, At A Minimum -- Against The Supposed US Ebola Treatment Facility In Kenya...

Not at all surprising -- the local courts in Kenya have heard a motion, and ordered a TRO -- against Tangerine 2.0 using the nation to act as a sick-paddock, for US people in Africa.

Ebola is not a case of the flu. Not even remotely. Here's the latest:

. . .A Kenyan court has suspended a plan to establish an Ebola quarantine facility for United States nationals exposed to the virus following a backlash from health workers and rights activists.

High Court Judge Patricia Nyaundi on Friday ordered a halt to the agreement on the facility, pending a ruling in a legal challenge brought by activists. The case should be heard next week. . . .

As countries seek to avert the spread internationally, the US struck a deal to isolate and monitor potentially exposed citizens in Kenya rather than transport them directly home for treatment.

The Katiba Institute, a Kenyan rights group, said in a petition challenging the planned facility, which was due to start operating on Friday, that it was being established in secrecy and unilaterally and that it “raises grave constitutional concerns”. . . .

Onward -- smiling in the sunshine -- on, to baby ice-capades, this weekend, on Sunday afternoon!

नमस्ते

Mr. Abrego Garcia Has Filed A "Killer" Habeas Update, Before USDC Judge Xinis In MD Overnight...

Do go read it all -- but the Trumpian/Todd Blanche lying we saw in Nashville, before USDC Judge Waverly Crenshaw (resulting in a dismissal of the purported "indictment") was also underway, with thundering hooves, in Maryland, before the able USDC Jugde Xinis.

She will soon put an end to Blanche's odious charade -- but do consider these particularly egregious bits:

. . .The official whose conduct the court found initiated that “taint” was Todd Blanche -- then Deputy Attorney General, now Acting Attorney General, and a named defendant here.

Blanche declared that the Government began investigating Abrego Garcia only after “a judge in Maryland ‘questioned’” the decision to remove him to El Salvador. Id. at *5. As the Tennessee court found, and the Government has failed to rebut, those statements “directly establish that the motivations for Abrego’s criminal charges stem from his exercise of his constitutional and statutory rights.” Id. The court concluded: “Blanche’s words directly confirm that the Executive Branch reopened the criminal investigation because the Judicial Branch required the Executive Branch to facilitate Abrego’s return from El Salvador. . . .”

After the Court unsealed these papers and the Government’s assertions became public, Costa Rica confirmed its continued, unwavering, and unconditional commitment to accepting Abrego Garcia. ECF No. 110 at 14; ECF No. 108 at 1. That was the third foreign state to undermine the Government’s representations to this Court. ECF No. 110 at 14. At a November 20 hearing, the Government produced the declarant who had signed the submission claiming Costa Rica would not accept Abrego Garcia. He testified that he had no knowledge of Costa Rica’s position and could not explain the contents of his own declaration -- ignorance the Court described as “planned and purposeful.” Id. at 13–14 (quoting ECF No. 107 at 26:8–27:12). Ultimately, the Court concluded that the Government had “affirmatively misled” the Court about Costa Rica’s willingness to accept Abrego Garcia. . . . .

Ahem. It seems this is all just "the worst of the worst". . . doing their collective. . . worst. But soon, Abrego will be a free man (and paid box-car damages), either here in the States, or in Costa Rica -- for this shocking misuse of governmental powers. Onward.

नमस्ते

Meanwhile, Tangerine Intends To Force US Citizens In DRC & Uganda Who Contract Ebola... Into Kenyan (As-Yet-Unbuilt) Facilities, For Treatment?!

The US has already built, long vetted and fully-staffed, various highly specialized treatment facilities -- for just these sorts of outbreaks. We used them in the 2012-14 outbreak, for physicians and nurses who fell ill, while working for Doctors Without Borders in DRC, Uganda and Liberia.

But we all remember, from Trump 1.0, this guy is well-known as a largely-irrational germ-a-phobe. So he is "constructing" a holding pen, essentially, in Kenya. [We also know, however, after 13 outbreaks, globally -- that the Ebola virus is very likely transmitted only by close contact with blood or bodily fluids, from an acutely suffering (or already dead) viral host.] Certainly, American diplomats and doctors deserve better -- from the government, they serve -- than this:

. . .The American Foreign Service Association on Wednesday urged the State Department to authorize the departure of U.S. diplomats and family members from Congo, Uganda and South Sudan because of Ebola concerns.

The union in a statement cited reports about the Kenya facility, calling it a “stark departure from how every previous administration has handled Ebola exposure.”

“Foreign Service employees are there because the U.S. government sent them. They are entitled to the same standard of care that has always applied, including the right to come home,” the union said. . . .

Lawrence Gostin, director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Center for National and Global Health Law and a professor of global health law at Georgetown University, said it’s “unprecedented” to quarantine Americans overseas without bringing them home.

“I think it’s potentially a life sentence for Americans,” Gostin said.

He noted that during the 2014 Ebola outbreak, two nurses at a Texas hospital who became infected while treating a patient were transferred to other specialized facilities, including the National Institutes of Health. . . .

Onward, resolutely just the same.

नमस्ते

Over 535 Cases Of Mpox Clade 1b In The US This Year -- With A New Cluster Of 5 -- In Wisconsin...

Do recall that a carefully reviewed study we mentioned about ten days ago points to the inference that something like 32 of each 33 cases in the US remain "hidden" -- that is, undiagnosed as the sufferer does not seek treatment. And each of those may well infect. . . others.

In any event, here is the latest -- from the Wisconsin public health authorities:

. . .The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) confirmed five mpox cases in the state this year, with a cluster identified in southeastern Wisconsin and cases in northern Wisconsin.

Although mpox has been circulating at low levels since 2022, DHS says current surveillance data show an uptick of infections nationwide in recent weeks. As of May 3, 535 cases have been confirmed across the United States. . . .

Now you know. We're headed to the Math Academy, and then park-play -- with the grand-nieces tonight. . . may grill some lemon infused brats, for them as well (their favorite!). . . then we'll walk to get some Cold-Stone ice cream blends, after all that, at around sunset. . . smile. Almost-end of school year fun.

नमस्ते

I Was Wrong: Not $75K Bitcoin. Likely Sub-$73K, By Friday…

This is hilarious.

It seems that most of the prediction narratives -- for this coming week's end (on Friday morning US time) were all too optimistic -- relative to a quadruple witching hour that will befall Bitcoin derivatives in about 28 hours.

. . .Bitcoin fell below $73,000 amid U.S. airstrikes on Iran, triggering a broad sell-off in cryptocurrencies and other risk assets.

Nearly $1 billion in leveraged crypto positions were liquidated in 24 hours, with long positions making up 93 percent of the wipeout. . . .

[Earlier: a] $2,000 plunge below . . . $75,000 remains a real risk [Ed. Note: now a realized FACT] heading into the May 29 settlement. . . .

Tim Sun, senior researcher at HashKey Group, told CoinDesk “The bigger problem, is macro: investors are de-risking as long-term yields rise, oil and inflation risks remain in focus, and there is currently no compelling reason for new capital to enter the market. . . .

Disclosure: I hold long dated out of the money puts on stocks that trade in tandem with Bitcoin, so I enjoy the down-bubbles in BTC. G'night, all of good will. . . smile.

नमस्ते

The SPLC Has Moved To Dismiss The Purely Political, And Thus Vindictive US DoJ "Indictment". It Will End This Malign Idiocy.

It may take a few months, but this is highly likely to result in a dismissal. [My prior backgrounder here.]

The entire process was fundamentally flawed -- infected with impermissible political biases (masquerading as supposed misdemeanor violations of law, at best), and makes entirely false claims about the organization's workings -- and whether the same is. . . lawful (as will be established in discovery, should we get that far). Here's the well-reasoned motion to dismiss -- and a bit of it:

. . .President Trump [made false and defamatory statements about the SPLC]. . . on April 24, 2026, three days after an indictment was unsealed against the Southern Poverty Law Center (“the SPLC”), [in] the latest manifestation of a top-down, retributive campaign in which he directed his Justice Department to go after those individuals and groups he deemed his political enemies, including the SPLC.

To carry out the President’s directive, others in the Administration targeted the SPLC, which now faces criminal charges for exercising its First Amendment right to identify, report on, and criticize extremist hate groups. The Administration has falsely accused the SPLC of being “anti-Christian,” of aiding the Biden Administration’s “weaponization” of the Department of Justice, of participating in political violence, and, most recently, of helping to “rig” the 2020 election against President Donald Trump. . . These examples of this Administration’s animus over the past year culminated in the criminal charges against the SPLC -- an indictment premised on conclusory accusations but devoid of provable facts or a proper statement of the law. . . .

[Trump] publicly proclaimed the improper political motive behind the case, branding the SPLC a “Democrat Hoax, along with Act Blue and many others” and claimed that when the allegations are proven “the 2020 Presidential Election should be permanently wiped from the books and be of no further force or effect!” President Trump doubled down on these farcical claims on a nationally televised 60 Minutes interview a few days later. He falsely proclaimed that the 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia “was all funded by the Southern [Poverty] Law [Center].” President Trump asserted that the SPLC had funded this “total fake” event “to make me look bad. . . .”

But he said -- of the Unite the Right rally, in real time -- that there "were very fine people on all sides."

That scarcely sounds like he ever thought it was a false-flag operation. What a lying putz. This indictment will end just as the ones against Jim Comey have -- and Mr. Abrego Garcia, as well: dumped out of court, for lies -- by the US DoJ.

नमस्ते

UPDATE: NASA's Ultra High Altitude "Zero Pressure" Balloon Instruments Have Been Recovered, Near McMurdo Station -- On The Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica...

We now have seen news that the team has recovered the payloads, from late last year -- on the ice shelf at the bottom of the world.

Here's that, from NASA and NSF:

. . .The first of NASA’s Astrophysics Pioneers missions to launch, PUEO took off Dec. 20, 2025, from NASA’s Long Duration Balloon Facility near McMurdo Station, Antarctica, and flew for 23 days before landing approximately 120 miles (200 km) from the South Pole. The full payload has been recovered, including the data drives. The PUEO team is currently analyzing the data collected—an undertaking that may take up to a year due to the complex nature of the task. . . .

To improve sensitivity to extensive air showers produced by cosmic rays and potentially neutrinos, PUEO incorporated a new low-frequency instrument that deployed once the payload reached float altitude (it would have been much too large to fit in the allowable launch volume in its flight configuration). This new low-frequency instrument incorporated antennas that are sensitive down to 50 MHz, and extended PUEOs sensitivity to air showers. . . .

Now you know. All as the Russians are spacewalking on NASA+, live at the ISS this late morning. Onward, grinning.

नमस्ते