I Am Cribbing Shamelessly From EW This Morning. Let's Take A Look At Who All Attended Tangerine 2.0's Tech Summit / Dinner... How Ironic!

Properly, EmptyWheel gets credit for the list -- hers is replete with expansive bios on each name -- and each coming here mostly as refugees (some without proper papers).

I will simply list them -- for irony's sake. Most are from what Trump calls "sh!thole countries". What an a$$. Here's the list -- fully 11 of the 19:

. . .Shyam Sankar

Chamath Palihapitiya

Satya Nadella

Lisa Su

Hock Tan

Jensen Huang

Elon Musk [South Africa -- worked unlawfully here, on an expired student visa]

Sundar Pichai

Sanjay Mehrota

Nikesh Arora. . . .

Now you know. Each one, a shitholer -- but now as captains of industry -- they are Tangerine's best billionaire buddies. This is no judgment of them -- I judge. . . him. He is a malign monster -- nothing more. A divisive opportunist.

नमस्ते

Gov. Bill Lee Won't Say He'll Commute To Life Without Parole. WTAH?!

What on Earth is wrong with him?

He personally had authorized torturing her for at least 28 hours, now. The acids under her skin are eating away her flesh and stopping neurological activity -- with everything they invade. She is dying, from the inside, now.

". . .Christa Pike was unconscious, intubated and on a ventilator in a Nashville hospital. . . a day after surviving a botched execution attempt, her lawyers said in a court filing.

Ms. Pike was critically ill, they wrote in a Friday filing in Davidson County Chancery Court, and both of her arms were swollen, burned and blistered when she arrived at the hospital. . . ."

And, it is unclear whether she is even remotely conscious any longer -- but she is breathing. She lives -- in a limbo between death and life -- undoubtedly in great pain. She's been poisoned in a vast dose.

And Bill Lee still won't rule out trying to execute her -- again.

This man had four chances to let justice work on Wednesday and into Thursday -- but he affirmatively authorized her death. This despite open habeas appeals still then underway.

He must be held to account for his state's barbarism -- the buck stops with him.

Out.

नमस्ते

Shut Yer' Feckless, Hypocritical Yap, TN Gov. Bill Lee. Damnation.

So -- yes, her victim remains dead -- and she was a certainly very bad person, with her 17 year old boyfriend, 30 years ago. But he got life without parole. She was sentenced to. . . die. And no, I cannot just let this. . . go.

Ms. Pike's fate though, in all likelihood is now far worse than death, outright. She's likely going to linger for months or years, in a limbo -- vaguely between life and death -- paralyzed from the neck down, a brain trapped in an essentially dead body.

If that is not "cruel punishment" (for someone who barely passes the IQ test, to be eligible for death -- who was so sentenced at the young age of 18 after years of horrific sexual abuse, as a child). . . I cannot imagine what is.

Here's the NYT update as of mid-morning -- East Coast time:

. . .Gov. Bill Lee paused capital punishment in Tennessee on Thursday and called for a review of the state’s policies on how it puts people to death. The announcement came hours after Christa Pike, a death row inmate, survived two doses of the lethal drug pentobarbital in the state’s second botched execution this year.

Ms. Pike, 50, was hospitalized late Wednesday night when she remained conscious after the injections. It was not immediately clear Thursday morning what her condition was, or what had gone wrong.

“It is deeply disturbing to me” that the execution was botched Gov. Lee (R/MAGA) said. [Ed. Note: Of course, yesterday he personally chose not to give her a short reprieve -- to have her habeas claims adjudicated -- nor to consider her firing squad request. We do know she'd be dead now -- if he had listened, as she wanted.] Lee said the pause he imposed includes Ms. Pike’s case.

The pause will also delay an execution that had been scheduled for December for a man convicted of murdering a friend. This year, Mr. Lee issued a reprieve for another death-row inmate whose execution had been canceled after medical staff members failed to find a vein. . . .

We must do better than these stabs a backward-thinking, bluntly-cruel and divisive. . . politicking. Mr. Lee in particular -- and the five Justices who did not stop her execution -- despite her habeas claim not having been fully-exhausted. Alternatively, we should have let her have her dying wish -- to be an example of our barbarism -- by firing squad. Maybe then more people might. . . wake up. These are nightmare scenarios -- over and over, again.

नमस्ते

The Arc Of Justice -- Bends [Slowly] Toward... Progress: DC Federal "Freeze" Class Action In 25-cv-402 Global Health Council, Et Al., From Last Year...

We are pleased to report that the ending-of-funding lawlessness is being brought to a definitive heel.

Here's the latest in 25-cv-402, in DC before the able USDC Judge Amir H. Ali, in DC:

. . .[Tangerine 2.0] Defendants proposed that they be given the opportunity to provide information relevant to whether they complied with the relevant foreign aid appropriations laws through a series of status reports supported by sworn declarations on October 2, 7, and 20, 2026. Id. at 18, 20. Defendants represented there would be no prejudice to any party from this approach because binding authority allows the court to hold open the period of availability for the appropriated funds beyond September 30, 2026. Id. at 19–21. Defendants also represented that, because USAID and the State Department have initially obligated funds or will do so before the spending deadline, all the funds at issue will be available for re-obligation for four years under the terms of the appropriations laws. Id. at 10, 15–16; see Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs. . . .

Based on the parties’ representations in the status reports and at the conference, the court adopts Defendants’ proposal to submit these additional status reports. The court also exercises its statutory and equitable authority to suspend otherwise applicable September 30, 2026, lapses of budget authority pending resolution of Plaintiffs’ claims in this case or further order of the court. See 31 U.S.C. § 1502(b) (“A provision of law requiring that the balance of an appropriation or fund be returned to the general fund of the Treasury at the end of a definite period does not affect the status of lawsuits or rights of action involving the right to an amount payable from the balance.”). As the D.C. Circuit has recognized, in section 1502(b), Congress “expressly authorized courts to suspend the lapse of budget authority while lawsuits play out.” Goodluck v. Biden, 104 F.4th 920, 928 (D.C. Cir. 2024); see also Rochester Pure Waters Dist. v. EPA, 960 F.2d 180, 184 (D.C. Cir. 1992) (explaining that “budget authority” generally refers to “authority granted by Congress to commit or expend funds”). . . . As Defendants acknowledged at the conference, binding circuit precedent also recognizes courts’ equitable authority to suspend the deadline. Draft Hr’g Tr. at 18–19. This court has already held this case fits neatly within that longstanding line of authority. . . .

Here, the court finds it appropriate and necessary to suspend the impact of lapses in budget authority related to this case to give the parties the opportunity to prepare a complete administrative record that will enable the court to rule on the pending motions based on the full picture of what actually happened. . . .

Defendants shall file status reports supported by sworn declarations on October 2, 2026; October 7, 2026; and October 20, 2026, providing the information described in the court’s September 22, 2026, minute order based on all information available to Defendants by the date of filing. . . .

Musk / DOGE / Trump loses -- again (in DC, on those "freeze" cases). Grin.

नमस्ते

Tangent: Mr. Mulleady Will Learn His Sentence In Miami Felony Court, On December 17, 2026...

We now have a final sentencing date -- in federal court in Miami:

. . .PAPERLESS ORDER SETTING SENTENCING HEARING AND PROCEDURES as to Kevin Patrick Mulleady

THIS CAUSE came before Magistrate Judge Edwin G. Torres upon Defendant's Change of Plea hearing held on September 25, 2026, a Report and Recommendation was submitted recommending that Defendant be adjudicated guilty of Repeatedly Making Harassing Communications, and having received no objections, the Court adopted the Report and Recommendation on October 1, 2026. Accordingly, it is hereby

ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that the Sentencing Hearing is set in this matter for Thursday, December 17, 2026, at 02:30 P.M. in Courtroom 11-4 at the Wilkie D. Ferguson Courthouse before Judge Jacqueline Becerra. All pending motions are denied as moot.

U.S. Probation is directed to prepare a pre-sentence investigation report.

Defendant should be prepared to surrender at sentencing should the Court sentence defendant to a period of incarceration.

The parties are directed to the Court's Sentencing Procedures. . . .

Signed by Judge Jacqueline Becerra on 10/1/2026. . . .

Now you know. Onward -- what a stupidly feckless tool that guy is.

नमस्ते

Just A Squib: Crew 13 Launch Prep, Underway -- Per NASA YouTube Live TV...

Watch the window below -- around 11 am Eastern.

Onward -- to the International Space Station, the Infinite willing, later this morning [and yes, I need something positive, after last night's depravity in the Tennessee state prison death house]:

. . .NASA’s SpaceX Crew‑13 mission is scheduled to launch at 11:10 a.m. EDT on Thursday, Oct. 1, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The mission will carry NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Joshua Kutryk, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov to the International Space Station. Live coverage begins at 9:20 a.m. EDT. . . .

नमस्ते

Merck Posts Encouraging Phase 2b Results -- For The Prometheus-Acquired Tulisokibart, In Moderate To Severe Hidradenitis Suppurativa...

It has taken a minute, but the $10.8 billion spent in 2023 -- for Prometheus -- is proving. . . wise.

Here is the latest, from FierceBio -- explaining how Rahway made a largely-smart M&A move in 2023, plunking down $10.8 billion in cash, for bio-candidate developer Prometheus. [Crohns disease is another target of the former Prometheus stable of bio-tech candidates.]

. . .Merck & Co. has touted a win for its anti-TL1A antibody in a phase 2b trial in patients with moderate to severe hidradenitis suppurativa (HS).

The study met its primary and secondary endpoints at week 16, informing phase 3 development for tulisokibart in HS, according to the company. The win was first announced in August during its second-quarter earnings update.

“We are excited to expand the clinical data for tulisokibart beyond inflammatory bowel disease with these positive phase 2b results,” Aileen Pangan, M.D., vice president and therapeutic area head, immunology clinical research, Merck Research Laboratories, said in the release. “We look forward to advancing tulisokibart to phase 3 for patients living with HS. . . .”

Merck inherited tulisokibart in the $10.8 billion acquisition of Prometheus Biosciences in 2023. Since then, tulisokibart has been hit-or-miss. In June, Merck reported a phase 3 victory for tulisokibart in ulcerative colitis, followed by a phase 2 fail in systemic sclerosis associated with interstitial lung disease in August. . . .

Now you know. And we are struck by the irony, of all these wondrous life-saving advances -- while overnight, Tennessee utterly fails to kill a woman adjudged very near the border for being ineligible for the death penalty due to mental infirmities.

And so, Tennessee's taxpayers must now likely fund a woman in a permanently vegatative state, all in a very high cost hospital ICU. This obsession with retributive death -- badly twice-botched, as well -- is simply. . . beneath our supposedly-shared dignity, in a civilized society. But perhaps -- just maybe -- we aren't so civilized, afterall. [Q.: are we really that much different -- than the failed Pazzi assassins hired by Pope Sixtus IV, in 1478 -- or the gladiators, killing and being killed in the Colosseo, in ~220 BC? I dunno, this morning.] Out.

नमस्ते

Deplorable: Tennessee Utterly Botches Another “Lethal” Injection Of Ms. Pike.

These insane, malignant sprints to kill. . . are worse than the lawlessness seen in the Old West.

The state of Tennessee has waited some 30 years to put her to death. What would a few more weeks matter? As we mentioned this afternoon, she had asked, as a show of the depravity of our society's use of the death penalty, to be executed by firing squad.

We can be sure of one thing, as midnight rolls past: she would be dead by now if the state had listened to her. As it is, leaving her in a permanently vegetative state is absolutely cruel and unusual punishment, as prohibited by the eighth amendment.

Here is the latest -- but what on Earth is wrong with our society at the moment?

. . .A Tennessee woman convicted of murder survived two doses of lethal injection on Wednesday night before state officials suspended the execution and had her taken to a hospital for medical care, her lawyers said.

It was the second botched execution in the state this year.

The apparent failure came after dueling court rulings delayed the execution of the woman, Christa Pike, by about nine hours. The state had raced to go ahead with the execution before the day ended and to avoid having to reschedule.

In a pair of emergency legal filings, Ms. Pike’s lawyers said that while two syringes of pentobarbital, the lethal drug, had been administered, Ms. Pike had not lost consciousness. She still had a heartbeat, they said, and was audibly snoring.

It was not immediately clear what went wrong with the administration of the drugs, or what Ms. Pike’s medical condition was. In a statement late Wednesday, her lawyers said that she was at a nearby hospital but that they did not know her condition. Tennessee officials confirmed to a federal judge late Wednesday that Ms. Pike was receiving medical care. . . .

We are nearly completely alone in the 21^st Century in still conducting executions. We are absolutely all alone in seeing a single state fail to execute two inmates in under a year.

It is repugnant to civilized society that we are putting people to death in the first place, but then to fail to complete the job, and likely leave her as a brain-dead vegetable, is something not even cave dwellers of 100,000 years past would have accepted. . . as an outcome.

Shame on us. We are scarcely any better than a 1920s lynch mob, tonight. Nor any better than the failed Pazzi attack (hired out by Pope Sixtus IV), inside the cathedral, at Sunday Mass -- in 1478, upon Lorenzo de'Medici. He was stabbed in the neck but survived -- his little brother died on the cold marble altar of stab wounds. Failed attempts, all -- and Pazzi was hung, and disemboweled for the effort. [Maybe that same fate ought to befall the Tennessee state prison guards?] Out.

नमस्ते

[U: Failed!!] In Nashville, Christa Pike Has Now Moved To Be Executed By... Firing Squad. Obviously, To Vividly-Demonstrate The Depravity -- Of The Whole Process.

Updated: see my immediately subsequent entry, here. It seems the state of Tennesse has botched two attempts at killing her. Damn -- she will likely now live out the rest of her days in a permanently vegetative state, in a limbo between life and death. No moral human being might think that outcome is anything other than cruel and unusual punishment. And yes our eighth amendment prohibits that.

The Supremes stepped out of the way yesterday, as Tennessee seeks to execute its first female in over 200 years. Also yesterday, she asked to be executed -- by firing squad. The reasoning there is old, and obvious: this whole exercise is beneath a civilized society. [It is another of many attempts to make her execution stand for more than simple vengeance.]

Two hours before she was to be killed, this morning a federal appeals court issued a stay, to consider whether enough weight was given in her habeas proceedings to her allegations of severe sexual abuse when she was a child -- as a factor mitigating her culpability. Pike spent three decades now, on death row after being convicted of the 1995 killing of Colleen Slemmer. Pike was just 18 years old at the time of the crime:

. . .She states that [Tennessee] recently reversed its litigation position that she is a liar who fabricated sexual abuse. Pike contends that the State’s concession of her history of child sexual abuse and rape “erodes the foundation” of her state court proceedings. Pike ties this erosion to defects in the federal court proceedings because, under AEDPA, the district court was required to give strong deference to the state court’s findings of facts. See 28 U.S.C. § 2254(e)(1). Pike also cites scholarly authority supporting her argument that the State’s representations about her history of sexual abuse tainted the state court proceedings and the subsequent federal ones by introducing damaging stereotypes of survivors of sexual assault. Pike contends that her motion is an attack on the integrity of her habeas proceedings, and, thus, properly considered a Rule 60(b)(6) motion. See Gonzalez v. Crosby, 545 U.S. 524, 532 (2005). . . .

To adequately address and resolve the issues now presented to this court and in carefully balancing the equities, we find that a stay of Pike’s execution is necessary. “[A] stay of execution is an equitable remedy,” Hill v. McDonough, 547 U.S. 573, 584 (2006), one which we have exercised to stay executions in the past, see Hartman v. Bobby, 319 F. App’x 370, 371 (6th Cir. 2009). The interests of justice and the finality of Pike’s impending execution compel theentry of a short stay of execution in order to properly analyze the parties’ fully briefed arguments and resolve the issues on the merits. . . .

Regular readers well-know that I believe in all instances the sentence of death cannot be shown to be uniformly, or equitably imposed. It is a vestige of our darker ages. What indeed will this all achieve? The victims cannot be revived by any of it. Out.

नमस्ते

In Chicago, The Able USDC Judge Sara Ellis Will Likely Allow Discovery Against ICE Agents On October 8, 2026...

There is no longer any serious doubt that ICE (and Greg Bovino, personally) acted lawlessly last year in Chicago, San Diego and Los Angeles (and Minnesota, too). And the class-plaintiffs here are certainly allowed to prove that, from Bovino's own mouth. And documents.

Moreover, the court in San Diego has already released almost all these documents from Team Tangerine 2.0, to the plaintiffs in SoCal. It cannot be a burden to save these same documents and videos to a drive, and deliver the same into the Dirksen Building in Chicago, per Judge Ellis' much earlier discovery order. But still -- Stephen Miller, et al., drag their collective leaden feet. Here's the latest, leading up to the October 8, 2026 hearing. I will be in the high Rockies then, but you know how to dial in -- or walk in, to the court:

. . .Pursuant to this Court’s authorization, Plaintiffs sought documents already produced [By Team Tangerine 2.0 lawyers] in the Vasquez Perdomo [USDC, SD CA] litigation regarding Defendants’ unlawful immigration actions that are relevant to both matters. Now, Defendants seek to quash that subpoena.

The Court should deny Defendants’ motion. The subpoena seeks documents relevant to establishing Defendants’ unlawful policies and conduct; for example, it seeks training materials used across operations. It is striking that Defendants assert irrelevance when they are the ones to raise the factual dispute that the alleged illegal activities merely reflected “disparate incidents involving DHS agents.” Moreover, Defendants lack standing to raise many of their objections, and the protective order currently in effect provides adequate assurances of confidentiality. . . .

Defendants’ primary contention is that the subpoena would be unduly burdensome, because it would require them to review the thousands of responsive documents produced in the Vasquez Perdomo litigation for privilege. This contention is wrong. Plaintiffs have offered to comply with the same clawback agreement in place in the Vasquez Perdomo litigation. Defendants rejected that proposal, but this Court should impose the same procedure here. Alternatively, this Court can review the same materials the Vasquez Perdomo Court did and reach its own decision on privilege, which will provide guidance for the remaining documents like what happened in Vasquez Perdomo.

Defendants cannot have it both ways: obtain the benefits of a blanket privilege assertion without having to litigate its propriety. It is not unduly burdensome for Defendants to simply brief a privilege assertion of their own making. . . .

In the fall of 2025, the same named defendants in Vasquez Perdomo, among others, implemented a strikingly similar unlawful campaign in the Chicago metropolitan area. From September 2025 through December 2025, Defendants “rampaged. . . through Chicago and surrounding areas, lawlessly stopping, interrogating and arresting residents, and attacking them with chemical weapons.” State of Illinois, et al. v. Dep’t of Homeland Security, et al., 26-cv-321 (N.D. Il) (“Illinois v. DHS”), ECF No. 1 ¶ 1. As in Los Angeles, governmental entities sued, alleging, inter alia, that the program of roving patrols, warrantless arrests, and arresting and detaining persons at courthouses and other sensitive locations violated the Tenth Amendment and the Administrative Procedure Act. . . .

Now you know -- and I have been grinning like Clark Griswold, stuck in his attic, in warm old furs and hats, watching very old home movies at Christmas. . . as I filter through our 2005 era, month-long trip through Europe -- with my then pretty small kids -- I am doing a series of "back then, to now" comparison photos [likely to become a Shutterfly-style calendar (at Xmas in AZ) for all my grown and gone offspring] -- scenes from Paris, Rome (one of which is embedded in today's masthead -- and below), Florence, Venice and London and Belfast. Very sentimental today, in the rain here. Smile. . . .



नमस्ते

FOIA Requests, In DC -- Case No. 25-cv-463, Seeking Records On Tangerine 2.0 Public Health Decision Making Processes (To The Extent ANY Process Exists) At HHS...

This federal court dispute in DC concerns public interest groups trying to figure out whether Trump's Health and Human Services Dept. is complying with applicable law, when it ends funding -- or when it begins new administrative procedures (many of shich have hobbled public health efforts, and have indisputably resulted in excess childhood measles fatalities -- backgrounder here).

And as ever, the Tangerine team lawyers in federal positions are foot dragging, on even the most basic disclosures. Here almost two years on, the plaintiffs have actually received almost no documents. Disgusting -- but here is the latest status report:

. . .On August 29, 2025, CMS issued its first response to FOIA Request No. 2024-01863-FOIA-OS. The agency informed Plaintiff that it processed 425 pages. . . .

On September 30, 2025, the agency issued its second response informing Plaintiff that it processed 822 pages.

On December 23, 2025, the agency issued its third response informing Plaintiff that it reviewed 542 pages as potentially responsive and determined that they were duplicates of pages previously reviewed.

On January 30, 2026, the agency issued its fourth response informing Plaintiff that it reviewed 136 pages of records and that all 136 pages are in consultation with other agencies.

The parties have agreed on the exclusion of certain records that will narrow the scope of production.

As noted in the last status report, the agency reports that: with respect to Request No. 2024-01863, the agency has received a response from CMS regarding the 425 pages of consults. However, a substantial portion of those pages require additional consultation before any release can be made, and remain on consultation.

The parties will continue to confer throughout the course of this action in an effort to reduce or resolve their disputes.

Pursuant to the Court’s May 7, 2025, Minute Order, the parties will file their next joint status report within the next sixty days. . . .

Simply trying to stall -- and run out the clock: we all know that Musk and Trump acted lawlessly, with RFK, Jr. Damnation.

नमस्ते

Largely Trivial/Checkup: What Are The $TRUMP And $Melania Meme/Crypto Coins Worth Now, In The Markets? [After The Fam Took Their Payoffs.]

We've mentioned it a few times before: the occupants of 1600 Penn have never seen a grift they would shy away from -- big or small. And true enough -- "fools and their money soon go separate ways. . ." even so, though -- consider:

As of his FEC mandated disclosures this year, Trump has made about $635 million off this joke of a coin, personally -- using his title as "preznit" for personal gains (to say nothing of whom all he may have paid off, by gifting early coins to his cronies). Overall, in crypto, his gains have exceeded $1.2 billion, personally.

For her part, Melania reported about $6 million in direct crypto gains in the year, but that doesn't count the amount she sold as the meme coin tanked. Those were coins given to her without any price -- and likely exceeded $100 million.

Meanwhile, ordinary (non-crony / non payoff receiving) investors lost something between $3.7 and $7 BILLION on the coins. Disgusting.

This all, as a retrospective blurb came out whilst I was away in Europe, but it is a worthwhile reminder of just how brazenly corrupt the two of them are:

. . .Both coins closely tracked the broader crypto market, which saw a rise to $2.66 trillion before a recent $60 billion drop amid geopolitical tensions and economic data. Despite their recent gains, both coins remain significantly below their highs since the 2025 inauguration, with TRUMP down 96% and MELANIA down 99% since then, compared to a 25% drop in total crypto market value. . . .

[Interestingly, but trivially after-all, the] OFFICIAL MELANIA meme coin modestly outperformed the OFFICIAL TRUMP coin in late August and early September despite similar market trends. TRUMP surged 75% in a week but then declined, ending 31.09% higher over a month, while MELANIA rose steadily to be up 35.93% over the same period. . . .

To be clear, though, both were -- and are -- essentially worthless stacks of ones and zeros, in an electronic storage medium. Damn -- what a pair of con-artists. Each -- for the presidential families -- largely exited their zero cost "investments" in the coins -- with hundreds of millions to billions in real US Dollar gains, only scant weeks after the meme coins launched. So they've gotten their tributes / bribes -- and the above later market prices mean nothing to them. Out.

नमस्ते

A Second Starship Has Made It To Orbit -- For Musk's SpaceX -- But He Had To Abort Before The Full 12 Revolutions Around Earth... Yikes.

This is progress -- to be certain, as he's been able to avoid blowing up. . . for two launches in a row, now.

But that is a very far piece from being ready for a crew to the Moon -- or beyond. He did deploy some more of his phone service sats, but again -- that is low Earth orbit stuff. Here's the latest on the morning launch, from the AP:

. . .SpaceX launched its enormous Starship into orbit for the first time Monday and successfully delivered the most advanced Starlink satellites yet, but cut the flight short to ensure safety.

The spacecraft reentered over the Pacific and splashed down north of Hawaii three hours after blasting off from Texas. The company had been aiming for a 10-hour flight, spanning six full laps around Earth, to prove its readiness for NASA’s Artemis moon program.

Starship tipped over and erupted in flames upon splashdown, a dramatic end to the mission.

Founder Elon Musk’s Starship almost didn’t make it to orbit when one of its engines shut down prematurely. But with everything else working well and the bad engine no longer needed, flight controllers decided, after several tense minutes, to proceed as planned. . . .

Now you know. Onward, grinning -- and I do hope for the best with his space hardware. . . but it is mostly. . . just hope. Yikes.

नमस्ते

Deeply Disturbing News From Butembo: Pro-Ebola Education Politician Beaten To Death; Home Looted And Set Ablaze...

It is possible (but not at all likely) that Mr. Karondwa's politics have offended one or more of the armed groups fighting for control of the region, in a long-simmering civil war inside DRC.

But the attack came immediately after he had given a radio interview -- urging adherence to public health measures, to help limit the ferocious spread of Ebola in the area. The official number of cases crossed 8,000 over the weekend, but actual, on the ground totals are now likely over well 10,000. Here's the deeply discouraging news:

. . .Marie-Celestin Karondwa, acting president of the UDPS party's federal executive committee in Butembo and a party spokesperson, was attacked by residents ⁠of his neighbourhood after appearing on a radio show during which he promoted Ebola prevention measures, the UDPS federation in Butembo said in a statement.

The party said the attackers beat him, looted his belongings and set his house on fire. It was not immediately clear who carried out the attack, how many were involved or what motivated it. Karondwa later died from his injuries, the party said. The mayor of Butembo did not immediately respond to a request ⁠for comment.

The incident is the latest in a series of attacks on Ebola response teams, underscoring persistent mistrust among the population. . . .

We will continue resolutely just the same -- and even though the US (via RFK, Jr. and Tangerine) is finally contributing to public health efforts after a nearly two year shut-out, the severity of this epidemic is clearly the feckless fault of Trump and Musk.

As we've shown over and over, this was all largely avoidable. Under Mr. Biden, the deaths ended at four people -- last time (2023). FOUR. Simply. . . disgusting.

नमस्ते

UPDATE: NASA's Swift Space 'Scope Now Expected To Burn In -- Over The Pacific Ocean -- In Early October...

We were cautiously optimistic, for the private-sector near-Boulder, Colorado engineering and science teams -- but launching in under one elapsed year, here -- on a complicated zero-G grapple maneuver. . . proved to be too tall an order. So Swift will soon be end-of-mission.

It was a nice try, but space is. . . hard. Here's all that, from the NASA team's blog:

. . .NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory has resumed use of its third science instrument, the Burst Alert Telescope, after the mission returned to data collection in August. Flight controllers have also allowed the spacecraft to resume automatically repointing its other telescopes to examine new high-energy flashes in the sky.

The return to normal operations follows the scaling back of a commercial mission that would have boosted Swift to a higher altitude.

[It] has [consequently] caused Swift to resume its rapid sinking. It is now located around 200 miles (325 kilometers) above Earth. Below 185 miles (300 kilometers), spacecraft operations become more difficult and science observations will likely cease.

The team estimates Swift will reach this threshold sometime in early to mid-October. . . .

Now you know -- onward, after a glorious EU vacation over the last four weeks. . . I'll likely put a few of my better shots into the masthead in the coming weeks -- or. . . maybe. . . now. Smile.

नमस्ते

A Potential $3 Billion A Year Blockbuster -- For Rahway, By 2030? Could Be, In Macular Degeneration Therapies That Were Acquired In 2024 From EyeBio...

As Mr. Davis lines up the next bevy of products that will "fill the eventual gap" -- as Keytruda becomes available in non-branded versions in the early 2030s -- we have followed this particular eye treatment narrative line since early 2024; and the money spent on acquiring EyeBio certainly looks to be paying off well.

Here's Fierce on all the latest Brunello clinical trial news I missed whilst away:

. . .Merck & Co.’s Brunello trial has hit its primary endpoint, shedding light on the effects of a trispecific diabetic macular edema (DME) drug that the Big Pharma bought in a $3 billion takeover.

The phase 2b/3 trial compared Merck's remigromig to ranibizumab, the VEGF inhibitor that Roche’s Genentech sells as Lucentis in the U.S. Mimicking a natural ligand called norrin, remigromig agonizes the Wnt signaling pathway. The pathway supports the restoration and maintenance of blood-retinal barrier integrity, suggesting remigromig could improve visual outcomes. . . .

Remigromig was well tolerated, Merck said. However, the company reported higher rates of proliferative diabetic retinopathy, vitreous hemorrhage and treatment discontinuations because of adverse events on remigromig than on ranibizumab. Merck is running further analyses to characterize the findings. Eyebiotech, remigromig’s original developer, saw no drug-related adverse events in a phase 1b/2a trial.

Merck will present data from the trial at the American Academy of Ophthalmology Annual Meeting next month. . . .

Merck acquired remigromig and the Tie2xVEGF bispecific, MK-8748, in its $1.3 billion upfront takeover of EyeBio in 2024. Merck is also on the hook for up to $1.7 billion in milestones. The assets are part of Merck’s efforts to grow beyond the loss of exclusivity for Keytruda. . . .

Now you know. Seriously jet-lagging -- but smiling just the same. Will see the lil' grand-nieces this evening for a Sunday night barbeque dinner. Grin.

नमस्ते

Official Number Of Ebola Cases Now Nearly At 7,800: Harrowing -- But Actual Total May Be Well Over 10,000 Already.

This bears all the earmarks of being worse than the 2013-2014 outbreak of over 14,000. In just this past week -- two days saw over 25 deaths. The current outbreak is still a very far distance from being. . . arrested.

Here's the latest hard news from CIDRAP -- three days ago now, while I was off-grid:

. . .The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) continues to infect those in Ituri province at an alarming rate, according to a new report published by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) yesterday. According to the report, the DRC has 7,773 confirmed cases, including 3,759 deaths, with 40 new confirmed cases and 27 deaths reported during a 48-hour period earlier this week.

“Ituri province remains the most affected, with 5,966 cases, including 2,737 deaths, reported from 28 of 36 health zones,” the ECDC wrote. “In total, 84.5% of identified case contacts are under follow-up in the affected provinces. . . .”

In addition, during the prior two weeks, another young medical doctor, treating the afflicted in situ in Ituri, DRC contracted the virus -- and has died from it. Discouraging, indeed.

नमस्ते

Q.: What Will We Learn From Greg Bovino's CBP-Issued Devices, Later This Year?

We are finally at the point where the class plaintiffs will be able to test the veracity of Bovino's largely preposterous in court, under oath burpings. . . of last year -- and earlier this year.

CBP will have to provide the raw data and transcripts from these devices. Good news, but conveniently, Mr. Bovino claims he "lost" his work phone between Minnesota and South Dakota. How convenient. That would have had lots of older comms onboard. But as the team CBP lawyers note, "the cloud lives forever". And we will doubtless find much of interest there. Here's the latest, from USDC Judge Sara Ellis' court docket in the Dirksen in Chicago:

. . .Mr. Bovino declined to surrender his personal cell phone. Mr. Bovino did, however, orally inform CBP officials that he had no work-related documents or communications on his personal cell phone. . . .

The CBP-issued phone that Mr. Bovino had in his custody at the time of his separation from the agency in March 2026 was a replacement phone that was issued to him in January 2026. Mr. Bovino reported a previously-issued work phone as lost in January 2026 while travelling between Minnesota and South Dakota. A new phone was issued to Mr. Bovino in January 2026.

To preserve the integrity of the data on the lost phone, CBP suspended the typical security feature that would auto-delete data on a CBP-issued phone that is reported lost. CBP worked to obtain the approximate geocoordinates of the phone’s last known location and dispatched officers to that location to search for the phone, but it was not recovered. Any data on the lost phone that is stored in a CBP cloud-based repository has been preserved, including communications and documents on Microsoft applications such as Outlook, Word, and Teams.

Additionally, CBP has been able to recover SMS and MMS messages from his lost phone, and those messages are being preserved. . . .

That preserved cloud data will make Bovino sweat, to a near-certainty.

In more mundane news, I am headed back across the pond a lil' early, as other duties require attention here -- so this is the final in-air post. . . out of Dublin now and over the Atlantic. Smile -- go Buffs, in about an hour -- even though you are 10 point 'dawgs. U: Buffs fall to 2-2. Oh well. Tough home game next week, too. Out.

नमस्ते

Lanham Act Spats -- Of Decades In Length: Finally Being Mediated To An Agreement?!

The two disparate Mercks may well be closer than they have in many decades to agreeing on a path forward as to the names and wordmarks of these two unrelated pharma/life sciences companies -- one older, and German; and one US based since the end of WWI.

Here's that -- from whilst I've been off grid (this will be by my count their fourth latest set of dates for mediation)

. . .[All parties and counsel] had mediation with Judge Hochberg on September 16-18, 2026. We have agreed to continue mediating with Judge Hochberg on October 27-28, 2026. . . .

Now you know. Onward.

नमस्ते

Oh. And Don’t Look Now, But Moderna Just Hit $201, After We Said “Undervalued”, At $38 Last Year!

This is real vindication of our long-ago (Fall 2024) rather bold predictions. [I actually think it was around $29, when we first said $85 would be fairer.]

Moderna is a great company, well run and very careful in its research spending. Focuses on things that it believes it truly can tackle. And then it tackles them with gusto.

Here's the latest from just one of many similar Wall Street "rag" stories over the past three days, so I won't link it, but this is how they view it -- and with that I will be off -- gallivanting across the lush green countryside.

. . .Wolfe Research upgrades Moderna to Peer Perform and describes the melanoma trial as de risking the intismeran platform, with a clearer regulatory path in adjuvant melanoma and estimated unadjusted peak sales across four indications of $9.2 billion. . . .

Barclays, UBS, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and RBC Capital all move price targets materially higher, linking their revisions to the Phase 3 melanoma success and to higher modeled contribution from intismeran. . . .

Here, now, in the land of my ancestors. . . these extended trips completely renew my soul!

नमस्ते