NASA's Ultra High Altitude "Zero Pressure" Balloon Flights -- Have Concluded, At McMurdo Station -- On The Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica...

This was some very cool (literally), cutting edge balloon tech.

And it worked. . . flawlessly. Here's the story -- and you'll recall that we covered the lead-up (and launches), last month:

. . .NASA’s Scientific Balloon Program has completed four successful Antarctica flights during a long-duration campaign that began in early December. The balloons launched from the agency’s facility located near the U.S. National Science Foundation’s McMurdo Station on the Ross Ice Shelf.

The General AntiParticle Spectrometer (GAPS) balloon lifted off Dec. 15. The GAPS payload is an experiment designed to detect anti-matter particles entering Earth’s atmosphere to help reveal the origin of dark matter — an invisible form of matter that’s estimated to make up more than 80% of the total matter in the universe. The GAPS mission flew for a total of 25 days, 2 hours, and 53 minutes before returning to the ice Jan. 9.

The Payload for Ultrahigh Energy Observations (PUEO) launched Dec. 19 and flew a total of 23 days, 8 hours, and 52 minutes, returning to the ice Jan. 12. The PUEO payload is designed to detect signals from neutrinos, high-energy particles that travel across the universe undisturbed, carrying information about events billions of light-years away. This was the first mission to launch through NASA’s Astrophysics Pioneers program, which supports compelling astrophysics science at lower cost. . . .

Onward, grinning -- with lil' ladies here shortly, then dinner out and a new experimental/journalistic "living documentary" theatre production tonight, based on the various experiences of people without papers here in the City of Big Shoulders -- called "Sanctuary Stories". Will report manana.

नमस्ते

While Not As Sweeping As The Chicago Orders, Minneapolis Is Now Covered By A Prelim. Inj., Against Bovino/Noem Lawlessness. First Amend. Rights Prevail.

This is a good start -- the larger suit is now scheduled for a hearing shortly on a much broader preliminary injunction -- as we mentioned earlier in the week.

But this one plainly prohibits the use of lethal force against people in their cars, or observers, unless they are trying to mow down ICE agents. It also prevents tear gas against protesters who are not violently assaulting federel agents. That's enough for the moment. Here's the 83 page federal court order, in full -- and a bit:

. . .Some nonparty declarants have described disturbing conduct of agents during and after these stops, including: threatening to arrest and detain them despite knowing that they were citizens; threatening to break the driver’s windows; waiting for the witnesses outside their homes; following them to their homes or to an address where their vehicles are registered; and telling the witnesses that they know where they live. (Rudolph Leon Decl. ¶¶ 24–26; Jackson Decl. ¶ 8; Levy Decl. ¶ 12; Smith Decl. 2 ¶ 4; Kellermeyer Decl. ¶ 4.) Ms. Salm describes having her phone seized from her hands while recording agents; being choked by the collar of her shirt. . . and being threatened with “a fucking bullet in [her] skull.” (Salm Decl. ¶¶ 9–23.). . . .

Defendants have not provided declarations or other evidence regarding the circumstances of the stops of Plaintiffs Webb, Biestman, and Lee, nor have they provided evidence to refute the accounts provided by the nonparty witnesses who were stopped by immigration officers. . . .

[Witness] Crenshaw entered the restaurant, he saw “two agents. . . violently slamming a young black man against the wall.” (Id. ¶ 4.) The man was “yelling in pain and saying that he was a U.S. citizen,” but the agents “didn’t seem to care” and “dragged [the man] outside,” even though he continued to tell them he is a citizen. (Id.) When Crenshaw and other observers followed the agents outside, one of the agents “slammed the door on [them]” and appeared to be “frustrated with [them] being there and filming them and telling them that what they were doing was wrong[.]” (Id. ¶ 5.) Once Crenshaw was outside the restaurant, he saw the agents “violently push the young man into the snow for no apparent reason” and “put him in handcuffs” and into a car with “black windows” and a Florida license plate. . . .

This is not conduct befitting. . . American law enforcement -- at all. Moreover, the stupidly evil DoJ "investigation" into Tim Walz and the Mayor of Minneapolis -- is not worthy of any real comment. So. . . I won't. It's a dead letter. Onward.

नमस्ते

"Tuskegee 2.0"? That Is Not Really Much Of A Stretch, For RFK, Jr. And Tangerine 2.0. Damn.

This has to be read -- in full -- to be believed, in 2026.

Kennedy and Trump -- both billionaires who believe people. . . living in the poorest parts of Africa -- those with darker skin should be experimentation subjects. [Hey -- doesn't that ring some. . . Nazi bells?!]

Here's the story -- and my long term friend Paul Offit is quoted near the end -- if he says it was happening, you may trust that it was:

. . .What do you get when you put a vaccine conspiracy theorist in charge of the agency responsible for funding medical research throughout the globe? A recipe for Tuskegee 2.0, apparently.

Some bombshell reporting over the last month has revealed a monstrous plan by Robert F Kennedy Jr.’s Department of Health and Human Services to fund a $1.6 million study on hepatitis B vaccines among 14,000 newborns in the West African country of Guinea-Bissau. As protocol documents obtained by Inside Medicine show, the study would have been a “randomized controlled trial to assess the effects of neonatal Hepatitis B vaccination on early-life mortality, morbidity, and long-term developmental outcomes.”

In other words, the study aimed to withhold Hep B vaccinations from 7,000 infants in one of the poorest countries on Earth — so that western researchers could compare their long-term health to babies that got the vaccine. . . . [searching for non-specific effects, here.]

“Non-specific effects” is a key buzzword swirling around Kennedy’s orbit of vaccine skeptics and holistic wellness influences, which essentially means “unintended harms.” The HHS’s chosen researchers for the Guinea-Bissau study were Peter Aaby and Christine Stabell Benn, a controversial Danish couple who have spent years chasing after non-specific effects in vaccines.

Thankfully, “the good guys won,” as Paul Offit, an infectious disease physician told the Guardian. “This administration did not see people in Africa as valuable. . . We were able to stand up for them. We were able to convince people about the fact that this was unethical. . . .”

You literally could NOT make this malignant insanity up -- if you were trying. And on MLK weekend, no less.



नमस्ते

If NASA Is Going To Reconnect With MAVEN -- Its Best Shot Is... Now: January 16, 2026

Well. . . Mars has just now gracefully moved, floating -- this morning, from out behind our home star -- relative to Earth's vantage point. But if the tumble of MAVEN has resulted in less than complete charging via solar cells, the craft may already be dead stick, without electric juice.

There is no update from Goddard, so we may assume that so far, the tumbling spacecraft is 404 -- off grid, thus (from December 15, 2025):

. . .Although no spacecraft telemetry has been received since Dec. 4, the team recovered a brief fragment of tracking data from Dec. 6 as part of an ongoing radio science campaign. Analysis of that signal suggests that the MAVEN spacecraft was rotating in an unexpected manner when it emerged from behind Mars.

Further, the frequency of the tracking signal suggests MAVEN’s orbit trajectory may have changed. The team continues to analyze tracking data to understand the most likely scenarios leading to the loss of signal. Efforts to reestablish contact with MAVEN also continue. . . .

Here's to hoping -- but the realist in me accepts that this excellent, long serving spacecraft is at end of mission.

नमस्ते

So -- Yet Again -- Tangerine 2.0 Offers A Non-Starter Short Outline, Calling It His "Great Health Plan". Small Personal Savings Accounts Is All It Contemplates. YAWN.

Welp -- "You can fool some of the people. . . all of the time."

But not today [for the sixth time, too!]. This same impotent clap-trap from Tangerine 1.0 died in Committee back in 2017. In a GOP Congress. There is simply no. . . "plan" -- in his plans. Ever. Here's the latest, from people not drinking Orange Kool-Aid -- at NPR:

. . .In a video posted to social media Thursday, President Trump announced an outline for new health care legislation. The plan does not include a remedy for people who buy their health insurance on HealthCare.gov, some of whom are facing sky-high premium hikes this month.

Trump dubbed the ideas the "Great Healthcare Plan." The White House issued a fact sheet and held a press call hosted by the chief of Medicare and Medicaid, Dr. Mehmet Oz[?!]. . . .

Both Oz and Trump talked about the plan as if it is a replacement for the Affordable Care Act (ACA), but the proposals are much narrower in scope than that law, which passed with no Republican votes in 2010.

A bipartisan group of senators is trying to hash out a bill to extend ACA enhanced subsidies, and Trump's plan appears not to preclude that short-term deal moving forward, but it is not a vote of confidence either. . . .

"This looks much more like a compilation of Republican ideas, including some that are already in the Affordable Care Act. It doesn't appear to address the rising premium payments that we're seeing. . . ."

What a pack of incompetent, feckless liars all these jamokes are. The return of the Obamacare subsidies is what is needed. Congress will buckle -- to the so-called "affordability" pressure -- from struggling families. Bank on that. Out.

नमस्ते

Based On Tonight's Order -- I Still Think USDC Judge Waverly Crenshaw Plans Hold The Evidentiary Hearing -- On January 28, 2026 -- In Music City...

At some point, given the AUSAs' foot dragging and thwarting of clear USDC Jenks [and Brady] production orders, Abrego will be entitled to a dismissal -- without a formal hearing. He has already offered plenty of evidence that this was a vindictive, irregular "manufacturing of a felony" -- out of a three year old, 20 minute traffic stop in rural Tennessee (one where -- amazingly! -- no traffic tickets were even issued, at the time).

The government is thus put to its proof -- to establish, as Mr. McGuire claims under oath, that he alone decided to charge Abrego. But now we see he was being directed from DC. So, he lied. That -- since the government has not put on any other evidence -- entitles Abrego to a dismissal. Here's the latest scheduling order -- on it all:

. . .ORDER as to Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia:

The Government shall reply to Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia's Motion to Compel [286] on or before 1/21/2026.

Signed by District Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw, Jr on 1/15/2026. . . .

Now you know. Off, to the high Rockies [for a bit of skiing, if the snow cooperates] after King Day, for a week -- then on to Nashville that next Monday night. Whoosh.

नमस्ते

The Pending Minnesota TRO Will Now Be Treated As A Prelim. Inj., Against Noemites & Bovino -- After Two Shootings, There.

Trump is very unlikely to even try to invoke the Insurrection Act of 1807 up in Minneapolis. Certainly he knows that there is zero credibilty to the claim that local law enforcement is being prevented from keeping the peace, in any meaningful way.

And, in any event, the ICE DHS people he has deployed there have no statutory authority to work as a "mini National Guard". And the Supremes told him just three weeks ago, that the real National Guard cannot lawfully be deployed in these situations.

In any event, the schedule will look like this, from here forward -- in Minneapolis:

. . .The Court will treat the Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order as a Motion for Preliminary Injunction, and will handle it on an expedited basis. The Defendants must file a response to the Motion on or before January 19, 2026, by 6:00 CST. The Plaintiffs may file a reply memorandum on or before January 22, 2026, by 6:00 CST. The Court will determine when to hold a hearing and whether an evidentiary hearing is necessary following review of the Defendants position.

In addition, the Plaintiffs advised that they may seek expedited discovery regarding some of the matters at issue in this proceeding. The parties should meet and confer following January 19th to discuss this matter, and can approach the Court to address it after such a conference. The parties may also submit a Protective Order to enable the exchange of information.

Ordered by Judge Katherine M. Menendez. . . .

Onward, resolutely -- we will deal peacefully with these cretins under Greg Bovino's command -- and under Noem's. I suppose he could try to call the US Army forward, but the Supremes have ruled that they cannot be so used (in Illinois at least) -- and likely, near half of them might decide to disobey any such Hegseth order -- on the authority of Scott Kelly having said that they have a duty to ignore unlawful / unconstitutional orders, under the Uniform Military Code of Justice.

नमस्ते

Whenever Faced With Vibrant, Massive -- But Largely Peaceful -- Protests, Tangerine 2.0 Now Regularly Tries To Claim Its An "Insurrection" [Of 1807]. YAWN.

He threatened it in Kenosha, WI, and in DC, and Minneapolis in Tangerine 1.0.

This time around, he's threatened use of the Act in Chicago, Portland, LA and most recently, again in Minneapolis (this time after Bovino shock troops gunned a mother of three down, in the street).

Aside from how cowardly this all seems -- he cannot have newsreels chanting "F#CK Trump!" every night -- the now nearly 220 year old act simply does not apply to the people exercising their clear First Amendment rights. It just doesn't [see flowchart at right]. This was made painfully clear when he and AG Bill Barr tried it -- against the people of DC, gathered peacefully in Lafayette Square, after George Floyd's murder by cop [when Trump held a bible upside down, involking his supposed "god's" name]. He's a sad lil' man -- with a sad, and repressive. . . lil' mind.

Here's today's version, from across the pond:

. . .Minnesota governor Tim Walz called on Donald Trump to “turn the temperature down” as protests escalate in Minneapolis after the shooting of an immigrant, by an ICE agent on Wednesday.

In a statement he asked the president to “stop this campaign of retribution” and thousands of federal immigration agents remain in the city after last week's fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good.

Walz also urged demonstrating Minnesotans to “speak out loudly, urgently, but also peacefully,”. Minneapolis police chief Brian O’Hara said that those gathering at the scene of the shooting on Wednesday were “engaging in unlawful behavior. . . .”

Donald Trump threatened on Thursday to invoke the Insurrection Act in Minnesota in response to protests in Minneapolis against federal immigration enforcement operations, as Minnesota’s governor, Tim Walz, overnight urged demonstrators in Minneapolis to be peaceful amid escalating tensions.

In a post on his "Truth" Social on Thursday morning, Trump said he would institute the Insurrection Act and “quickly put an end to the travesty that is taking place” in Minnesota if the “corrupt politicians of Minnesota don’t obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of ICE”. . . .

This is a very fraught time. Be careful out there my Minneapolis friends. Onward, resolutely, just the same -- confidential to Tangerine: "here's a crazy. . . idea -- stop gunning down innocent people in our cities." I promise the protests will abate then.

नमस्ते

NASA's ISS Crew 11 Splashes Down, Just Off San Diego, Overnight -- Over A Month Early. But All Is Well, Medically Speaking.

We are thrilled that everyone returned with no new medical episodes, and they were picked up right on time, out of the Pacific waters. Excellent!

Here's the overnight presser, with a cool infrared gif -- at the top of NASA's splashpage/homepage at the moment:

. . .NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission safely splashed down early Thursday morning in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, concluding a more than five-month mission aboard the International Space Station.

NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov returned to Earth at 12:41 a.m. PST. Teams aboard SpaceX recovery vessels retrieved the spacecraft and its crew shortly after landing.

“I couldn’t be prouder of our astronauts and the teams on the ground at NASA, SpaceX, and across our international partnerships,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. “Their professionalism and focus kept the mission on track, even with an adjusted timeline. Crew-11 completed more than 140 science experiments that advance human exploration. Missions like Crew-11 demonstrate the capability inherent in America’s space program—our ability to bring astronauts home as needed, launch new crews quickly, and continue pushing forward on human spaceflight. . . .

And separately, do check the comments to the last post, for an excellent protest version of the Battle Hymn of the Republic. . . from across the pond, on YouTube. Onward, now.

नमस्ते

USDC Judge Perry: Bovino Is Going To Settle -- To Avoid Contempt, And His Possible Jailing -- In Chicago.

April Perry is an excellent jurist.

She and Judge Ellis, also a great Chicago federal trial judge, have Greg Bovino dead to rights: he's lied under oath to each Judge, about his personal use of excessive force / lawless brutality, and most-recently, faces the potential for lots of jail time in Minnesota, for oveerseeing the murder of Renee Gibson, last week. [Bovino also let the actual shooter leave the scene without even making a statement or filing an immediate report, as is required in any federal officer involved killing.]

And so, it makes sense that the Noemites / Bovino goons will now cut their losses and settle the civil matters in Chicago. Here's the resulting order, from today's status report call in the Dirksen Building:

. . .MINUTE entry before the Honorable April M. Perry:

Status hearing held 1/14/2026. Based upon the parties' representations that they are engaged in settlement negotiations, the Court agrees to stay this matter and all previously-set deadlines until 1/30/2026. By 1/28/2026, the parties are to file a joint status report that updates the Court on whether the settlement negotiations have been productive and whether they request that the case be stayed for an additional period of time.

Mailed notice. . . .

And, it may be that the Abrego Tennessee hearing gets delayed again -- as once again, the US government is thwarting court orders to disclose a privilege log (due back in November of 2025), and produce its own fact witnesses' prior on record statements (emails and texts -- due January 5, 2026 -- as of today, these are ten days late) for the purpose of cross-examining them, at the January 28 hearing. That's just two weeks off, now.

We shall see -- but these supposed US Attorneys are regularly cutting corners on their duties in all these cases. Bank on that -- and bank on USDC Judge Crenshaw pretty soon saying "enough is enough". Mr. Abrego Garcia goes free -- this BS Nashville selective and vindictive indictment is (also). . . toast. Onward.

नमस्ते

"Imposter" US Atty. Lindsey Halligan's Nonsensical Response -- Eastern District Of Virginia

What a steaming pile of orange elephant dung, this is. And perhaps that unduly insults [useful for fertilizer!]. . . elephant dung.

[And our prior coverage may be found here.]

In any event, here's all that silliness, and a bit:

. . .True, federal courts possess inherent authority “to manage their own affairs as to achieve the orderly and expeditious disposition of cases,” Chambers v. NASCO, Inc., 501 U.S. 32, 43 (1991), but that bears little resemblance to what the Court proposes here. The Court’s proposal is not to manage its own affairs but to prevent the Executive Branch from acting according to its own legal position in this litigation. And using disciplinary authority to manage the Executive Branch’s affairs would be anything but the “great caution” with which the Court’s disciplinary authority “ought to be exercised.” Id.

To answer the Court’s inquisition directly: “the basis for Ms. Halligan’s identification of herself as the United States Attorney, notwithstanding Judge Currie’s contrary ruling” is that, in the Government’s view, Ms. Halligan is the United States Attorney, and Judge Currie’s ruling did not and could not require the United States to acquiesce to her contrary (and erroneous) legal reasoning outside of those cases. . . .

See, kids -- when a federal judge rules (echoing Nixon in 1971), it's. . . "just a suggestion", if you are a Trump acolyte, on the government payroll.

Poppycock. Prepare for a disciplinary inquiry, Lindsey.

नमस्ते

Maybe, In 45 Minutes? Nope. Not Today. Ugh.

We await the Supremes.

[Here is some of our prior coverage on this lawlessness.]

So maybe Friday before the MLK long holiday weekend(?). . . .

namaste.

नमस्ते

As TX MAGA Gov. Abbott Dawdles -- And Noem Wanders Aimlessly Into Corners, Of Her Own Making... The People Lacerated By Razor Wire Still Wait For Justice, Three Years On.

We followed this closely -- during the Biden administration, as many will recall.

Back then, federal Border Patrol and ICE and DHS were aligned against Texas Gov. Abbott's installing Berlin Wall style concertina wire along the shores, and in the waters of the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass, Texas. Dozens of people crossing that river were lacerated -- many with now life-long injuries. And at least three people drowned.

Here, now -- in Tangerine 2.0, the feds are more than happy to join Abbott and AG Paxson, in slow-walking any recovery for the people injured. The case would be dismissed altogether, if they could collude to do so -- but this is no longer just a fed-state fight. Real humans have been ruled, by appellate courts, to be entitled to monetary recoveries for Abbott's cruel and lawless acts. [The razor wire in the water was a clear act of trespass. . . into Mexican waterways and to federal lands and waterways. The government of Mexico owns the more shallow southerly side of that river, the Rio Grande. But that is where Gov. Abbott put up his concertina wire -- on Mexico's holdings. That much is beyond dispute.]

Yet these cases still sit in limbo -- almost four years on -- awaiting a USDC Judge with the courage to say (in Thurgood Marshall's majestic turn of phrase). . . some times, "justice delayed, is justice denied". The time will come, when a US President will say (just as John F. Kennedy did, re the University of Alabama) "that's enough".

These people must be paid, by the taxpayers of the State of Texas, for this wanton lawlessness:

. . .On February 7, 2025, this Court placed this matter in abeyance to afford the new federal administration time to assess this matter. Dkt. No. 267. . . .

On March 27, 2025, this Court continued the abeyance of this matter until further notice of the Court, with a status report due 45 days from the Court’s order. Dkt. No. 273.

Since March 27, 2025, the parties have submitted status reports at 45-day intervals. Dkt. Nos. 274, 275, 277, 280. Since the parties’ last status report, the parties have been in discussions regarding how to resolve this matter without further discovery or trial. Those discussions are ongoing.

The United States thus asserts this matter should remain in abeyance.

Texas does not oppose the continued abeyance of this matter.

The parties will submit their next status report within 45 days. . . .

This. Is. Deplorable. A pure "four corners" stall. Damn.

Let's take Congress back in 2026!

नमस्ते

Power Alley: Merck Open To "Tens Of Billions" In M&A Scale: CEO Davis, At JP Morgan Health Care Conference Yesterday...

And the current rumor mills have it that Rahway is circling the waters, with Revolution Medicines in its sights.

That may be accurate -- and the rumored price would be around $32 billion. For his part, the CEO of Revolution, Mark Goldsmith, said it would take "over $30 billion" to get them -- while taking a firm "no comment" on any specific talks (that might be pending).

Here is the latest on all that (subs. req.) -- but Merck could use some new bolt-on capapbilities that might come online around 2030 -- and that fits nicely into Revolution's expected timelines, for its RAS(ON) inhibitors, like daraxonrasib and elironrasib:

. . .Investors attending the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference packed themselves into a hotel meeting room Monday to hear Revolution Medicines CEO Mark Goldsmith explain why Merck -- or some other pharma buyer -- should pay $30 billion or more to acquire the developer of targeted cancer drugs.

Goldsmith didn’t specifically address the media reports of an imminent deal, of course. It was the subtext of his remarks, delivered in a dry, matter-of-fact style, that spoke much more loudly. . . .

The wry smile said it all -- indeed. Onward resolutely, very proud of Minneapolis -- and of my Chicago -- standing up to. . . evil incarnate.

नमस्ते

[U: MN Version Linked At Bottom.] Officials In Chicago AND Minnesota Bring Similar New Federal Suits Against Tangerine 2.0's Noem And Bovino -- For Lawless Brutality.

These are new federal suits. They both allege intentional, knowing and flagrant violations of the US Constitution -- and the checks and balances inherent in individual states' limited sovereignty.

Here's the Chicago version -- a 100 plus page complaint at law, filed in the Dirksen Building tonight -- and a bit of it:

. . .Unable to force Illinois and Chicago through legal challenges to alter their policies, the federal government attempted to coerce the same result by unlawfully withholding federal funds. Defendant Noem issued a directive to cease federal funding to “sanctuary” jurisdictions.

The federal government then withheld millions of dollars in funds wholly unrelated to immigration -- including homeland security and disaster relief funds -- and promised to continue withholding funds unless and until Illinois diverted resources from the investigation and suppression of violent crime to federal immigration enforcement. Federal courts have barred the administration from implementing these illegal actions. See, e.g., Illinois v. FEMA, No. CV 25- 206 WES, 2025 WL 2716277 (D.R.I. Sept. 24, 2025); see also City & Cnty. of San Francisco v. Trump, 25-CV-01350-WHO, 2025 WL 2426858, at *2 (N.D. Cal. Aug. 22, 2025); Martin Luther King, Jr. Cnty. v. Turner, 798 F. Supp. 3d 1224, 1255 (W.D. Wash. 2025) (barring federal government from requiring Chicago to enforce federal immigration policies as a condition of receiving public safety, transportation and health grants).

Angered by his inability to force Illinois and Chicago to adopt his policies, President Trump threatened to unleash a military assault upon them. On September 6, 2025, the President shared on social media an image of himself dressed as a military officer from the film Apocalypse Now, rebranded as, “Chipocalypse Now." The post riffed on a line from the film in which a character celebrated using napalm on a Vietnamese village, writing “I love the smell of deportations in the morning. . .” Referring to the announcement by Trump and Secretary of Defense Peter Hegseth a day earlier that they would rebrand the Department of Defense as the “Department of War,” the post also threatened that “Chicago about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR. . . .”

[Then, months later,] the United States Supreme Court denied the Trump administration’s application for an emergency stay concluding that “the Government has failed to identify a source of authority that would allow the military to execute the laws in Illinois.” Trump v. Illinois, No. 25A443, 2025 WL 3715211, slip op. at 2 (U.S. Dec. 23, 2025). . .” [See at right.]

Because of the purpose of border security (to prevent entry into the United States of smugglers, contraband, and undocumented immigrants) and the realities of border security (including rugged terrain where backup is often miles away and radio equipment frequently fails), Border Patrol agents operating at or near the border may engage in enforcement tactics that are not permissible for removal enforcement in the interior [like inside Chicago or Minneapolis], like warrantless searches of vehicles within a reasonable distance of the border and trespass on private property. CBP officers also may collect the biometric information of all noncitizens entering and leaving the United States, whereas such biometrics collection is only authorized in narrow, limited circumstances when effectuating removals. Compare 6 U.S.C. § 211(c)(10) (requiring Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection to “deploy technology to collect the data necessary for the Secretary to administer the biometric entry and exit data system”), and 8 U.S.C. § 1365b (addressing the creation of a biometric entry and exit data system), with 8 U.S.C. § 1357(f) (authorizing collection of biometric information from immigrants “14 years of age or older against whom a [removal] proceeding is commenced under section 1229a of this title”). . . .

Defendants have implemented an illegal policy of deploying Border Patrol to the interior of the United States [Where they are not authorized to operate], including the Chicagoland area. On October 30, 2025, Defendant Noem stated she was “thrilled with all the work that ICE and Border Patrol are doing to help clean up our streets. . . I would say that we actually are using our ICE officers and our CBP officers everywhere. . . .”

[Border Patrol was observed on video, on the Chicago Riverfront, and in Little Village,] patrolling in large numbers wearing military gear and brandishing military weapons in crowded areas of Chicago, including the Loop, Magnificent Mile, and Millenium Park, and interrogating people without belief the person was an alien or unlawfully in the country; arresting or detaining hundreds of people without a warrant or sufficient cause, and seemingly based solely on race or ethnicity; indiscriminately releasing tear gas in urban neighborhoods among civilian populations. . . .

[Since the early 1950s, under well settled federal law] U.S. citizens are not required to carry, much less produce upon request, documentation establishing their citizenship or otherwise prove their citizenship while going about their day. [But many are now doing so, to avoid these goon squads]. . . .

Commander-in-charge Bovino has acknowledged and affirmed the Roving Patrol Policy in stating to a reporter named Priscilla Alvarez: “I can question anyone anywhere in the United States as to their citizenship. Priscilla, what’s your citizenship? See I just did it now, and I can do that anywhere in the United States, and our border patrol agents are trained to do that.” [That is a false statement of the law. He is not so empowered.]. . . .

Updated: here's the Minnesota version of the memo of law, for those keeping score at home!

Onward, resolutely -- these people will not prevail. Our well-vetted system of ordered liberty will. Bank on that.

नमस्ते

The EU Commission (And Its Member States) Authorize A New €1.2 Million, For Marburg Arrest Efforts In Ethiopia...

The good news is we are now under 16 days away from declaring the current outbreak at an end -- no new cases in almost thirty days' time.

But to be certain, the aid will be put to good use in Jinka and outside of it. Here's the latest, from a Commmission presser:

. . .The European Union has allocated €1.2 million in emergency humanitarian aid to respond to the Marburg outbreak in Ethiopia, currently affecting the South Ethiopia Region. The funding will support a coordinated response to strengthen the ongoing operations, prevent a major disruption to local health systems and avoid widespread social and economic consequences.

On 14 November 2025, the Federal Ministry of Health and the Ethiopian Public Health Institute declared the outbreak of the Marburg virus disease in southern Ethiopia.

As of 16th December 2025, 14 cases were confirmed, including 9 deaths, and over 600 identified contacts including around 400 already discharged. Population in the Jinka Town and other districts within the region are experiencing the impact of the outbreak. Mobility across regional and cross border routes, like Kenya and South Sudan, increases the risk of a wider spread. . . .

Now you know -- onward, resolutely, all as Trump hits about 60% unfavorable, to 40% favorable -- overall, here stateside.

नमस्ते

Getting Closer To Solving... "The Final Parsec Problem"? The Math Doesn't Work, When Two Super Massive Galaxies Collide -- So, How Do Their Black Holes... Merge?

If one envisions this as a simple rubber sheet, around a center pole in which two very, very heavy steel marbles are rolling toward one another (and thus, the rubber sheet itself increasingly sags -- toward the center pole), we can easily imagine that -- at some point, as the two are "whirlpooling" around each other, closer and closer and picking up speed -- eventually they will bump into each other at the bottom -- and in the language of astrophysics. . . that's the moment of merger. And we "hear" the blip -- as a gravity wave -- even across hundreds of millions of lightyears, here.

At least, that is how middle schoolers are taught it might happen. But out there, across billions of light-years in scale. . . the observed reality seems a little different. The black holes often reach a sort of. . . equilibruim point -- and don't fall in any further, for the last three or so light years of separated distance [the so called Final Parsec]. Or so all the mathematical models hold.

But in point of fact, over billions of years (as light from thousands of galaxies reaches us). . . we can observe that the pairs of two do, indeed. . . merge into one ultra super massive black hole, forever changing the shapes and orbits of the galaxies that host them. So what gives? Let's listen to the Beeb, here (for a plain English tour through the high math problems):

. . .[A]stronomers encounter [a mathematical contradiction] when they try to model exactly how [super massive black holes merge]. In order to spiral towards one another, the two black holes must first shed energy. To start with, that energy is transferred to surrounding material, including gas and dust. Except when the galactic black holes get within a parsec of each other – just over three lightyears – it seems there’s no longer enough ‘stuff’ to shed energy to. . . .

There must be solution to this "Final Parsec Problem", and recent experiments such as NANOGrav have picked up a lot of gravitational waves that look like they come from colliding supermassive black holes.

There’s clearly something we are missing in our models.

That could be the influence of a third black hole, but that’s unlikely to account for all cases. . . .

Perhaps the black holes interact with their environment in some other way that causes them to lose orbital energy, spiral in and collide.

Perhaps the black holes interact with their environment in some other way that causes them to lose orbital energy, spiral in and collide.

For now, the Final Parsec Problem remains one of the biggest mysteries in black hole and galactic astronomy. . . .

Perhaps your own super bright young mathematician / offspring will solve this for us, in a few years' time. Smiling. . . perhaps.

नमस्ते

A Fascinating Half-Hour [Late Night Friday] Visit, From The NY AG's Office -- Looking At Over 12 Pages... Hmmm.

[This admitted tangent is from another property of mine -- related to Martin Shkreli's now nearly fifteen years of run-ins with the law. And his eventual jailing -- and various lifetime barring orders.]

But first. . . is it possible that they will call me, feeling I might be harassing a law abiding citizen of the tri-borough area? Perhaps, but that seems. . . unlikely. [I am in truth, outside the NY AG's jurisdictional reach, in any event. They'd need to call the IL AG. Smile.]

No, Occam's Razor would suggest the NY AG wants to know how it is. . . that one Martin Shkreli is serving as a paid consultant (presumably to include both securities pricing matters, and even perhaps waning pharmaceuticals research), for an intrepid / nascent '34 Act public company.

As I've pointed out a few times in the last month or so. . . even forgetting that he's been generally a bear -- on quantum computing (and so, may not be in the role as a genuine advocate -- but just a $120K a year "buy-off", to avoid his running a shorting scheme, against QC Tech?). . . it is my guess that the able USDC Judge Cote, in Manhattan, will frown on this whole arrangement, given the FTC and SEC case resolution orders.

But we shall see -- maybe they were just at the office late, and ordered pizza and beers -- and were doing some recreational reading while Indiana crushed Oregon, in a conference room with a TV on. Maybe.

Updated: several more visits while the NFL games were on here late on Saturday afternoon. Fascinating. End, update.

And. . . go Bears! Escape safely from Wildcard weekend. Yep, my Ducks were crushed last night. Ugh. [Indiana will slaughter Miami for the title, though now.]

Onward.

नमस्ते

Update, X2 -- On Crew 11 Departure Prep, From NASA -- Now Likely 5 PM EST Jan. 14 Undocking...

The coming days may unfold without a lot of advance press notice, for the team.

We will keep you informed, though. Here's the overnight update:

. . .Updated 01.10.2026: NASA and SpaceX are targeting no earlier than 5 p.m. EST, Wednesday, Jan. 14, for the undocking of the agency’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission from the International Space Station, pending weather conditions. . . . [End, updated portion.]

Four Expedition 74 crew members are preparing for their return to Earth aboard the SpaceX Dragon crew spacecraft. Amid departure preparations, the International Space Station residents also conducted spacesuit maintenance, space biology research, and an artificial intelligence study.

Mission managers have decided to move up the return date for the four SpaceX Crew-11 members living and working aboard the orbital outpost. No departure date has been announced, though the crew has begun checking the fit and operability of their Dragon pressure suits. Fit verification is necessary because the spine lengthens and body fluids shift toward the head in microgravity, affecting torso and limb dimensions. The quartet also tested the suits’ audio and video communication systems.

Dragon Commander Zena Cardman will lead Pilot Mike Fincke, both NASA astronauts, and Mission Specialists Kimiya Yui of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) and Oleg Platonov of Roscosmos back to Earth inside Dragon. . . .

Now you know. Onward, resolutely.

नमस्ते

In Another Bovino / Noemites' Longer Pending ICE Class Action In Chicago -- The Tallies Of All Warrantless Arrests Will Be Released Shortly...

Bovino and Noem are on their way to being unable to ever find work again, in respectable society [and to be clear, being a Faux News or SkyNews Australia talking head is not. . . respectable].

And I am here for all of it. Here's the latest, overnight:

. . .MINUTE entry [in USDC NDIL Cause No. 18-cv-3757] before the Honorable Jeffrey I Cummings:

The parties are ordered to file a joint status report on 1/16/26 regarding the production of warrantless arrest records.

Mailed notice. . . .

Now you know. Grinning.

नमस्ते