[U: 02.25.26 @ 5 PM | no update.] Hmm. There Is A Separate, Entirely SEALED Case -- 26-mj-4029 -- In The USDC In Nashville, Now Lised As "Associated" With Abrego Garcia's...

Updated: Mañana, we will undoubtedly find out more over in Courtroom 3D. Nothing at the court live, this evening, on paper. Onward. End update.

[Originally @ 02.24.2026 PM:] When I get situated tomorrow afternoon, I'll go by the live in person docket, and see what I can find out. Likely not much -- but it could be one of the cases against one of the supposed govt. "cooperating" witnesses. We shall see.

In any event, I am pretty sure it will all be made clear shortly after 9 AM on Thursday, in USDC Judge Waverly Crenshaw's courtroom.

. . .26-mj-4029 | Sealed v. Sealed. This case is SEALED. . . .

Onward, resolutely. On the Southwest small-jet by 2 pm. . . Now in at Union 614.

नमस्ते

Mpox WHO Global Situation Report: As Of February 24, 2026

Globally, there are now over 54,000 active cases of Mpox (all Clades) -- and 221 verified deaths, as all clades of mpox/sq-pox virus (MPXV) continue to circulate.

This will be a long, winding road ahead. Here is the latest, from WHO:

. . .In January 2026, 50 countries across all WHO regions reported a total of 1334 new confirmed mpox cases, including three deaths (case fatality ratio [CFR] 0.2%). Of these cases, 66% were reported in the African Region.

➢ Four regions observed a decline in confirmed cases in January, compared to December 2025, while the European Region reported an increase in confirmed cases.

➢ Twenty countries in Africa reported active transmission of mpox in the last six weeks (5 January – 15 February 2026), with 1142 confirmed cases, including four deaths (CFR 0.4%). Countries reporting the highest number of cases in this period are the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, Madagascar, Liberia and Ghana.

➢ One country, Comoros, and one territory, La Réunion (Overseas Department of France), have reported mpox due to clade Ib MPXV for the first time.

➢ Outside Africa, reports of community transmission of clade Ib MPXV continue in France, Portugal and Spain, including in sexual networks of men who have sex with men.

➢ WHO conducted a global mpox rapid risk assessment in February 2026; the overall global public health risk associated with the mpox multi-country outbreak was assessed as moderate.

➢ India has reported a case of mpox with the clade Ib /IIb recombinant MPXV. The strain sequenced is closely related to the first clade Ib / IIb recombinant strain reported by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in December 2025. As both cases are travel-related, these case reports suggest wider transmission of the recombinant strain, implicating four countries in three WHO regions. . . .

Onward -- headed. . . south -- smiling, and hoping for a good outcome in federal court, tomorrow.

नमस्ते

The News Is... Clearly Immaterial, Today. [Power Alley]

Merck is taking steps to segment the oncology wing of its businesses into a separate operating group.

Yawn. As I understand it, the team hasn't even set up a separate holdco subsidiary for the pembrolizumab franchises. That is, these are simply spreadsheet entries at this point -- not legal entities. [It will make it much easier for the internal management teams to track the fully-loaded profitability of the oncology wing, though -- to be certain.]

The move is to make the company both more agile and "ready to go", should someone be willing to pay the very last, tip-top dollar for those businesses. But until then -- I can all but guarantee Rob Davis is not going to sell-, or spin- the franchises. [Query: I suppose he could sell the rest of the company off, and keep oncology. . . but that too is perhaps a decade away, yet. He could fund the dividend forever, with the oncology earnings.] So yes, all of this is definitively immaterial, today.

Here's the stuff, from Fierce:

. . .Merck is reorganizing its current human health business into a distinct oncology division and a separate specialty, pharma and infectious diseases unit, the company said in a Feb. 23 release.

The oncology unit will, naturally, oversee Merck’s roster of current and experimental cancer meds, including Keytruda, which Merck has predicted will collect $35 billion in peak annual sales in 2028. . . .

Non-cancer products -- including newer growth driver Winrevair and aging diabetes stalwart Januvia -- will go over to the other unit, which will also oversee Merck’s portfolio of vaccines, according to The Wall Street Journal. . . .

Largely a yawner -- for the next five to ten years. Onward, to Music City, mañana. . . smile.

नमस्ते

It Turns Out That... Trump Said -- On An Open Line -- "I Have To Invite The Women, Or I'll Be Impeached"... He Said It, While Talking To USA Men's Hockey.

This is. . . ultimately. . . just your average, or "normal" Tangerine 2.0 misogynist/hate-filled sentiment.

But he said it on a speaker phone being held by one Kash Patel (who was chugging champagne with the boys, at the time), in the USA Hockey locker room in Milano, by then a full day AFTER the women had already won gold. [He hadn't put in a call to them -- by that point.]

. . .It is unclear if the men’s team will attend the speech. . . .

"I must tell you, we’re going to have to bring the women’s team, you do know that," Trump said when extending the invitation to the men's team.

If he did not invite the women's team, "I do believe I probably would be impeached," he joked. . . .

This man is. . . a pig. As is his boy, Kash Patel.

नमस्ते

Tangent: The Relevance (If Any), Of Evidence Of Alleged Intoxication -- In The Charged Plot, To Kill Martin Shkreli?

Well. . . this is a pretty common tactic, in threats of violence made by telephonic means, or via the internet: argue that the indicted speaker/actor was so intoxicated that he could not have been of a truly "guilty mind" -- or possessed mens rea, in the Latin.

And that mental state -- specifically, intending to do great bodily harm to another human being (all as alleged by the government) -- is an element the government must prove.

So, at trial, the defense is likely to introduce what all was in Mr. Mulleady's liquor cabinet -- and out of it -- on the days and nights in question. [The defense has indicated that it may call what appears to be Mr. Mulleady's significant other. This would be one of the purposes, presumably, for that witness being seated.]

In any event, here is that federal filing in Miami, tonight -- and a bit of it:

. . .[Mr. Mulleady's potential] evidence regarding voluntary intoxication would not be part of the defendant’s “case-in-chief.” The voluntary intoxication instruction goes to the defendant’s state of mind, and ability to form the requisite mens rea, of a specific intent crime. Thus, evidence regarding voluntary intoxication is evidence that negates an essential element of the government’s prima facie case. It is not an affirmative defense presented as part of a defendant’s case-in-chief, but as rebuttal of evidence that may (or may not) be presented by the government that the defendant did in fact form the requisite mens rea “at the time in question.” See Clark v. Arizona, 548 U.S. 735, 769 (2006) (“[E]vidence tending to show that a defendant suffers from mental disease and lacks capacity to form mens rea is relevant to rebut evidence that he did in fact form the required mens rea at the time in question.”); see also United States v. Melhuish, 6 F.4th 380, 394 (2d Cir. 2021) (“A defendant may submit mental health evidence for the purpose of rebutting the prosecution’s proof of the mens rea element of a specific intent crime.”) (citations omitted).

One district court in Tennessee recently summed up a similar situation nicely. As that court explained, “The Defendants here, for example, could wait and decide what defenses to raise once they see what evidence the Government presents at trial. Or perhaps they believe the Government is, in any event, unable to put on a case that will survive a motion for a directed verdict. If that is the case, it would be untenable -- and, most likely, unconstitutional -- to require Defendants to turn over potential evidence (most of which is currently privileged) to the Government or risk forfeiting a defense. The source of that concept, whatever it might be, is fundamentally foreign to the adversarial system of criminal justice contemplated by the United States Constitution.” United States v. Wilkerson, 388 F. Supp. 3d 969, 975 (E.D. Tenn. 2019). . . .

I may have to spend a week in Miami for this one -- could be. . . highly entertaining! Hah!

नमस्ते

Again, The Noemites/Homan-istas Have Directly Disobeyed A Federal Court Order Of USDC Judge Cummings, In Chicago. Ugh.

The Noemites are again flirting with contempt -- and jail time -- here.

This time, in a similar federal proceeding in Colorado, the Noemites told a judge in open court that its brodacsts would apply nation-wide -- "so, not to worry about a separate order for Colorado."

Then, not barely three weeks later, the able USDC Judge Cummings in Chicago ordered a similar broadcast order, to the one entered already in California. To certify it had complied, the ICE lawyers said that -- despite two clear orders of his -- the Noemites sent it only to Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri, Kentucky, and Kansas.

That was, at a minimum, a lie -- and a fraud, on the Colorado federal District Courts. So, Judge Cummings just today ordered new compliance proceedings -- and they will be held this week:

. . .[The goverenment's broadcast] is inconsistent with this Court’s orders both at the February 13 hearing and in the February 17 Order. Accordingly, the Court orders defendants to re-circulate the Broadcast Statement of Policy to all ICE agents nationwide by email and they shall advise the agents that the Broadcast remains in effect as the ICE policy governing warrantless arrests until further notification by DHS and ICE, period, full stop. Defendants are further ordered to certify their compliance with this directive in their February 27, 2026 certification. . . .

Other courts have recognized that the Broadcast Statement of Policy is a nationwide statement of ICE policy. See, e.g., Ramirez Ovando v. Noem, No. 1:25-CV-03183-RBJ, 2025 WL 32923467, at *2–4 (D.Colo. Nov. 25, 2025) (discussing the origin of the Broadcast (“Broadcast I”), how it was prematurely rescinded by ICE (“Broadcast II”), and how it was reinstated by this Court’s October 7, 2025 Order (“Broadcast III”)); Id., at *15 (applying the requirements in “defendants’ own Broadcast statements”); Id. at *23 n.28 (“The standards for determining probable cause of flight risk for a warrantless arrest and documentation in a Form I-213 are substantially the same as those ICE has previously set out for itself in Broadcasts I and III.”).

Notably, in Ramirez Ovando, defendants themselves took the position that the Colorado district court need not enter an injunction governing warrantless arrests because a sufficient policy was “already in place” by virtue of the Broadcast. Id., at *14 (emphasis in original); Id., at *21 (“Finally, the Court rejects defendants’ argument that plaintiffs cannot show a likelihood of irreparable harm in light of Broadcast III, which was issued a week before the hearing, and already require[rs] ICE officers to comply with § 1357(a)(2).”) (cleaned up). If defendants believed that the Broadcast only applied to the ICE Chicago Area of Responsibility, this Court would like to believe that defendants never would have represented to the Colorado district court that the Broadcast was in effect in Colorado. . . .

All of this -- this whole damn ICE dumb show -- is simply. . . madness. Out.

नमस्ते

Take A Dangerous Ride Around... A "Dark Matter Dominated" Galaxy, 600 Million Lightyears Off, In Perseus...

William Butler Yeats had different beasts in mind, when he first penned the below -- after WWI. That much is certain.

But consider that entirely dark galaxies are out there -- and should you be unlucky enough to miss the gravitational waves, it might just swallow you. . . whole. But fret not -- this one is over 600 million light-years out, in Perseus. We won't fall in -- by anyone's accident or inattention.

"...Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere....

A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it
Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.
The darkness drops again; but now I know
That [six million] centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards [Perseus] to be born?"


-- William Butler Yeats (1919)

Hah! [Pretty. . . dark, and foreboding -- like our current moment.] Yet, in any event, here's the far more cheerful latest-, and a video- explainer, from NASA (on these stealthy enigmas):

. . .NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has revealed an exceptional discovery in the Perseus galaxy cluster: CDG-2, an ultra-low surface brightness galaxy composed of 99% dark matter.

This elusive galaxy remained hidden until astronomers detected a slight increase in globular cluster density, suggesting the presence of an underlying galactic structure.

Observations from Hubble, ESA's Euclid observatory, and the Subaru Telescope confirmed a faint halo of diffuse light surrounding these ancient star clusters.

Analysis indicates CDG-2 has the luminosity of approximately six million Sun-like stars, with the clusters comprising about 16% of its visible matter. The galaxy's normal matter was likely stripped away through gravitational interactions within the Perseus cluster. . . .

Now you know. . . grin.

नमस्ते

Now -- The Revised Govt. Witnesses List -- For Thursday Morning, In Nashville...

Well. This is going to provide some juicy moments -- on cross examination!

And Mr. Hecker will put on a master class in it.

Mostly, I cannot wait to see the "lawyer as witness" problem confound Mr. McGuire, as he squirms to try to explain that "he alone" decided to indict -- and then bring toward trial. . . a nearly three year old traffic stop -- where not even a traffic ticket was issued. . . but somehow he charged it as. . . a felony -- to the grand jury. And then explain how his impartial "justice only" facade will return, as soon as he is back sitting in the first seat -- prosecuting for the Noemites. Yikes.

I will also particularly enjoy Agent VanWie's repeated nonsense -- he tried this gambit last summer, too -- before USDC Judge Crenshaw [which is, in no small part, why the dismissal is pending, for this Thursday] re his silly explanation for why he reopened this old. . . non-case.

. . .COMES NOW the United States of America, by and through Braden H. Boucek, United States Attorney, and, pursuant to this Court’s prior order (DE # 162), provides the following amended witness list for the February 26, 2026 evidentiary hearing. This pleading amends the Government’s prior witness list, which was previously filed on October 30, 2025. (DE # 196.)

At the hearing, the Government intends to call:

➢ Supervisory Special Agent John VanWie, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI): the United States anticipates that Agent VanWie, who worked for HSI – Baltimore, will testify regarding his decision to reopen the [not even traffic-ticketed 2023 Tennessee] investigation into the defendant’s [early 2023, entirely unticketed] activities -- on April 17, 2025. . . .

➢ Special Agent In Charge Rana Saoud, Homeland Security Investigations: the United States anticipates that Agent Saoud, who supervised the HSI -- Nashville office, will testify regarding the [re-]commencement of the [more than two year stale] investigation into the defendant’s. . . activities by HSI -- Nashville. . . .

➢ First Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert E. McGuire: the United States anticipates that Mr. McGuire [who, until now had been lead trial counsel], who was serving as the Acting United States Attorney at the time the indictment was obtained, will testify regarding the reasons he sought the indictment and who made the ultimate decision to seek the indictment. . . .

[Bonus question: Will Mr. Hecker find a way to call the US Attorney who resigned rather than udnertake this vindictive prosecution -- he's a long time VAndy law prof. -- widely respected. Will we see him? I dunno.] In any event, buckle-up buttercup -- these dullards / goons are about to be. . . unmasked -- in Music City Thursday morning. See ya' then.

नमस्ते

Power Alley: Gilead To Pay Up, For Arcellx: As A CAR-T Rival To JNJ Franchises...

The next-gen immuno therapy wars just keep rumbling onward. JNJ will now face a potentially very formidable competitor in the CAR-T space.

Here's the latest, from Fierce -- in the power alley (and a bit):

. . .Gilead Sciences has struck a deal to buy Arcellx for $7.8 billion to take full control of a CAR-T cell therapy that is on the cusp of approval.

Arcellx partnered with Gilead to develop the BCMA-directed CAR-T anitocabtagene autoleucel (anito-cel) in 2022. Gilead invested in Arcellx as part of the agreement and, having invested again when amending the deal in 2023, owns 11.5% of the company. With Gilead on the hook for $530 million in milestones for anito-cel, analysts had speculated about a potential buyout.

Gilead made its move Monday, agreeing to pay $115 per share in cash for Arcellx. The offer represents a 68% premium to Arcellx’s 30-day volume-weighted average share price. Arcellx shareholders will receive another $5 per share if cumulative global anito-cel sales hit $6 billion by the end of 2029. Gilead CEO Daniel O’Day discussed the buyout in a statement. . . .

Pricey -- but probably a pretty savvy bet. Onward, grinning into Wednesday afternoon -- at Union Station.

नमस्ते

The Oceans’ Floors May Explain Long-Lived “Snowball Earth” Epochs…

56 Million Years -- that's a very long time to be sitting in a freezer -- waiting for your turn to get on the grill, and crisp up. . . .

Other, later breaking Earth Ice Ages lasted only tens of thousands of years -- up to a few million years -- but this particular Ice Age lasted over 50 million years. Ponder that. [And it seems a "runaway carbon cycle" -- but on the oceans' floor -- was a main factor, yet again.] Here is that item, and a bit:

. . .By tracing how carbon moved between ocean and atmosphere, Trent B. Thomas at the University of Washington (UW) demonstrated that intensified seafloor weathering could hold greenhouse gases low enough to prolong deep freeze conditions for tens of millions of years.

In his simulations, volcanic carbon release remained within the same range for both episodes, yet only the scenario with accelerated ocean-floor reactions reproduced the prolonged glaciation.

That imbalance pointed away from the sky and toward the seabed, setting up the need to understand how the ocean floor gained such outsized control over Earth’s climate clock. . . .

Fascinating. Onward.

नमस्ते

Here, Tonight Tangerine 2.0 Says "Too Much" -- And, Not Enough, All At Once.

So -- as these Milano Winter Games come to a close. . . this item is exceedingly (albeit unintentionally). . . revealing.

A hard right nutjob crows that Tangerine 2.0 invited the men's hockey team to his SOTU speech, on Tuesday.

He originally made no such offer -- to the women's team.

[BTW -- they also won gold. For its part the NHL's stars are saying that travel arrangements may be "difficult" -- vis-a-vis the timing of the hard restart of league play. Hilarious! These guys can charter their own jets, man. But they do. not. want. to. be. props.]

In any event, the hard right well knows. . . these are very powerful, brilliant women. They too, might not agree to only be "seen, and not heard".

O U T.

नमस्ते

Noemite/Homan-Forces... Continue To Defy Federal Court Orders In Chicago -- Motion To Enforce Up Next, At Dirksen Bldg...

We will have to wait a bit, to read the actual motion, as the unredacted version doubtless contains names and personal details of individual victims, at the moment -- and so won't be available for viewing on the PACER system until redactions are made.

But again -- these jamokes cannot thwart court orders much longer -- otherwise, they and their AUSA lawyers will wind up in jail for a spell. Here's the latest text entry on the docket:

. . . .Docket # 305 | Motion to Enforce. . . .

Onward, grinning just the same -- as America holds men's and women's hockey gold, again -- for the first time in decades. On -- to Nashville, mid-week!

नमस्ते

Zero Surprise, Here: No March '26 Artemis II Launch Date -- Just As We Foretold.

So -- if you've been reading along here, we've long suggested that there are still some important issues facing the mechanics -- in the way the team loads the Boeing / Lockheed launch vehicle -- with super-cooled liquid hydrogen. Those are very tiny, slippery molecules, and they do tend to leak. . . easily. And, when warmed in the air, to a gaseous stage. . . they are. . . dangerously and unpredictably explosive.

However, overnight NASA has confirmed that it is seeing new "anomalies" in the helium readings, in the upper stage of the rocket, as well.

So the team is going to roll the vehicle back into the hangar. That scrubs any March launch -- and likely means. . . June 2026 or beyond. [Dear Leader will not be pleased -- but safety first, always.] In any event, here is the morning's update:

. . .NASA is taking steps to potentially roll back the Artemis II rocket and Orion spacecraft to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida after overnight Feb. 21 observing interrupted flow of helium to the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket’s interim cryogenic propulsion stage. Teams are actively reviewing data, and taking steps to enable rollback positions for NASA to address the issue as soon as possible while engineers determine the best path forward. In order to protect for troubleshooting options at both Pad B and the VAB, teams are making preparations to remove the pad access platforms installed yesterday, which have wind-driven constraints and cannot be removed during high winds, which are forecasted for tomorrow.

The upper stage uses helium to maintain the proper environmental conditions for the stage’s engine and to pressurize liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellant tanks. The systems worked during NASA’s Artemis II wet dress rehearsals, but teams were not able to properly flow helium during normal operations and reconfigurations following the wet dress rehearsal that concluded Feb. 19. Operators are using a backup method to maintain the environmental conditions for the upper stage engines and the rocket, which remains in a safe configuration.

Teams are reviewing potential causes of the issue, including in the interface between ground and rocket lines used to route helium, in a valve in the upper stage, and with a filter between the ground and rocket. They also are reviewing data from Artemis I in which teams had to troubleshoot helium-related pressurization of the upper stage before launch.

A rollback would mean NASA will not launch Artemis II in the March launch window. However, the quick preparations enable NASA to potentially preserve the April launch window if a rollback is required, pending the outcome of data findings, repair efforts, and how the schedule comes to fruition in the coming days and weeks. . . .

Now you know. [Getting thrilled to get out of the cold, by Wed. night -- and down, to Music City.] Woot!

नमस्ते

New Cautionary Tales -- Out Of A Chinese Look Back, At Co-Infections -- HIV/AIDS, Together With Mpox...

The European Medical Journal latest reviews section offers some not-too-surprising post-hoc result out of China. The multiple burdens of these diseases would rather logically lead to increased rates of hospitalization, once a sufferer is co-afflicted with both viral loads.

In any event, here is that summary -- and a bit of it:

. . .A retrospective analysis from Hangzhou, China, examined 104 laboratory-confirmed mpox cases. . . and compared mpox-HIV coinfection with mpox monoinfection. The investigators also matched HIV monoinfection cases 1:1 with mpox-HIV coinfections to explore differences and potential risk factors.

Mpox-HIV coinfection was associated with greater symptom burden. Lesion pain was reported more often in coinfected patients than in those with mpox alone (67.39% versus 39.66%). All 27 hospitalizations in the cohort, including one intensive care admission, occurred in the coinfected group, highlighting a clear severity signal in this setting.

Most coinfected patients were already receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) (97.83%), yet immune suppression remained common. Up to 28.26% had CD4 positive T cell counts at or below 350 cells per microliter, and lower CD4 counts were associated with more severe clinical manifestations and higher hospitalization.

The study also identified behavioral factors that clustered with mpox-HIV coinfection. High risk sexual behaviors, including multiple sexual partners and frequent sexual activity, were associated with coinfection status. The authors argue these patterns support integrating surveillance and prevention strategies for HIV and mpox in higher risk groups. . . .

Onward to a nice dinner out with friends, tonight -- all done with the food poisoning. . . and onward to Music City mid-week, ahead -- whew.

नमस्ते

I'm Pretty Proud Of My Governor. He Suffers Few... Fools.

This is perhaps trivial, but a decent case can be made that every state in the Union is also owed reparations from Trump's plainly unlawful theft of our GDP via his tariff follies.

This case is best seen though -- I think -- as a way to make the political point: Trump is off the map, when we speak of what is permissible, in the land of separation of powers:

. . .CHICAGO — Following the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the Trump tariffs were imposed illegally, Governor JB Pritzker sent a letter and invoice to the president, demanding the return of the $8.6 billion he stole from Illinois families.

Read the full letter and invoice at right. . . .

Rest assured -- Apple (through its fine legal team, like many others around the nation) will reclaim every penny of the $2 billion it is already owed, on behalf of its shareholders -- who were lawlessly assessed his odious taxes (in the form of tariffs). Flawless.

नमस्ते

[U] Trumpian Tariffs: Tossed -- 6-3! Woot! Gorsuch's Concurrence Shows How Unhinged The Hard Right (Alito / Thomas) Have Become...

I will (this afternoon) read the opinions to find the suggestions about how the federal tax returns might best be used to refund money to all who paid tariffs. The Supreme Court agreed with the challengers that IEEPA did not give Trump the power to impose the tariffs. “Based on two words separated by 16 others in. . . IEEPA -- ‘regulate’ and ‘importation’ -- the President asserts the independent power to impose tariffs on imports from any country, of any product, at any rate, for any amount of time. . .” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote. “Those words,” he intoned, “cannot bear such weight”. “The IEEPA contains no reference to tariffs or duties”. . . and, “until now no President has read IEEPA to confer such power”.

So more to come -- but only Alito, Thomas and Kavanaugh dissent. Here's the 170 page stack of majority and concurring and dissenting opinions -- and the banger quote:

. . .IEEPA does not authorize the President to impose tariffs. The judgment in No. 24–1287 is vacated, and the case is remanded with instructions to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction; the judgment in No. 25–250 is affirmed. . . .

[Gorsuch -- concurrence:] . . .The problem for the dissent [Kavanaugh, Alito & Thomas, here] is that none of this is relevant here. Before us, the President concedes that he does not enjoy independent Article II authority to impose tariffs in peacetime. Ante, at 18–19. Nor does the President claim “‘concurrent’” constitutional authority to issue his tariffs. Ante, at 13 (citing Tr. of Oral Arg. 70–71). Instead, and to his credit, the President admits the power to authorize tariffs in peacetime is constitutionally vested in “Congress alone.” Ante, at 13 (internal quotation marks omitted). Therefore, the President relies entirely on power derived from Congress, and that means the major questions doctrine applies in the normal way. . . .

Because of this problem, the dissent must argue for a much broader “foreign affairs” qualification to the major questions doctrine. Rather than ask whether an independent, constitutionally vested presidential power is implicated, the dissent would have us ask instead whether the President seeks to use the statute in question for a foreign affairs purpose -- for example, as a “too[l]” to “incentivize a change in behavior by allies. . . or enemies.” Post, at 50. When he does, the dissent submits, the major questions doctrine should not apply. And that’s true, the dissent continues, even if the power the President asserts has “significant domestic ramifications.” Post, at 51. . . .

This new exception to the major questions doctrine would have (enormous) consequences hard to reconcile with the Constitution. Article I, §8, vests in Congress many powers that touch on “foreign affairs.” Some of those powers were expected to be (and are) the “principal objects of federal legislation.” The Federalist No. 53, p. 333 (C. Rossiter ed. 1961) (J. Madison). They include not only the power to impose tariffs, cl. 1, but also the power to establish uniform rules of naturalization, cl. 4, appropriate money for armies, cl. 12, and define and punish offenses against the law of nations, cl. 10.

Under the dissent’s view, all these legislative powers and more could be passed wholesale to the executive branch in a few loose statutory terms, no matter what domestic ramifications might follow. And, as we have seen, Congress would often find these powers nearly impossible to retrieve. . . .

As [their own] Justice Scalia famously intoned, "the Congress does not hide elephants. . . in mouseholes. . . ." Just as we've said for over a year. Hilarious.

नमस्ते

Merck v. Merck Multi-Billion Dollar Lanham Act Suit In NJ -- More Abbreviated Pre-Trial Briefing To Come In A Few Weeks...

At a truly-glacial pace. . . this sprawling, very high stakes naming lawsuit has been underway for over a decade, just in the federal courts in New Jersey -- but the general dispute about name rights, has been dotting the globe for two decades.

And the original schism came at the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. So there is some thick bark -- on this old tree. Here's the latest:

. . .TEXT ORDER:

Further to the Court's Order issued today, and for the reasons discussed on the record, as pertains to the discovery issue presented in Section 20 of the Revised Final Pretrial Order:

(1) Plaintiff shall set forth its position, including the specific discovery it seeks, in a letter memorandum to the Court (not to exceed ten double-spaced pages), by March 16, 2026;

(2) Defendant shall respond (not to exceed ten double-spaced pages) by April 9, 2026; and

(3) Plaintiff may reply (not to exceed three double-spaced pages) by April 16, 2026.

As regards discovery concerning replacement witnesses in Section 6D of the Revised Final Pretrial Order, no party seeks a custodial production, and the parties agree to limit such discovery to a deposition of the replacement witness. Upon resolution of the anticipated in limine motions, the parties will meet and confer to establish a deposition schedule for the replacement witnesses.

So Ordered by Magistrate Judge Michael A. Hammer on 2/19/2026. . . .

Now you know -- getting ever closer to a real federal Lanham Act trial date. End, power alley stuff for the day.

नमस्ते

Once Again, A "Dress Rehearsal" -- At Loading The Liquid Hydrogen And Oxygen Tanks, For Artemis II... But, Why Even Go?

There are collected and sealed sample tubes, resting in and around the Perseverance rover out there, 40 million miles off -- on Mars. Or Barsoom, if you prefer. NASA's Trump appointed Administrator recently canceled all funding -- for the 2030 mission to robotically reurn them to Earth.

That is an extremely important astro-biology science program -- it may definitively establish that there was prior life -- on Mars. But instead of spending that money -- with no risk to human crews, Tangerine 2.0's priority is to showboat "boots on the moon" -- near the Fourth of July. For nearly no real scienctific purpose. Ask Armstrong. Ask the Apollo teams -- we've learned what we can there. No need to risk life and limb, at all. Here's the latest -- but this is not the fault of NASA -- this is politico-hacks' fault:

. . .11:11 a.m. EST

Teams in the firing room at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center are experiencing an issue with ground communications and have moved to backup communication methods to maintain safe audio command and control. The launch director has decided to maintain the current vehicle state, continuing the liquid oxygen fast fill, but delaying moving into liquid hydrogen fast fill, while engineers troubleshoot the issue. . . .

11:45 a.m. EST

Normal communications have been restored, and NASA teams have made the decision to transition to fast fill of the SLS rocket’s core stage with super-cold liquid hydrogen. Core stage liquid oxygen remains in fast fill.

Fast fill rapidly loads hundreds of thousands of gallons of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen into their core stage tanks. During this process, teams also monitor for leaks and conduct engine bleed procedures to thermally condition the RS-25 engines for launch. Once fast fill is complete, operations will move to topping and replenish phases.

Up next, teams will start chilling down the liquid hydrogen tank on the interim cryogenic propulsion stage – or the upper stage – of SLS. . . .

So -- there is an argument we ought to do both -- in the near term (Moon; and Mars) as a stepping stone to boots on Mars. But we haven't solved the radiation shielding issue -- for humans to go to Mars. So we cannot use humans to collect these tubes, safely.

Yes, this is a very stupid time, in US administration / public policy toward (and in many cases, opposing). . . real science. Damn.

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Tangent: Indemnity? Only If Martin Shkreli Was Exercising His Rights "As Intended" Under The Purchase Agreement. He Wasn't.

So. . . Martin Shkreli has (through counsel) filed more papers in Brooklyn -- this time claiming to properly make the Wu- parties part of the PleasrDAO action. [I won't link them, as they badly misstate the law and facts of the case.] Even if these papers do that, his claim is now for indemnity (from the Wu-) for disputes about the "ownership" of the work.

That theory would be heard solely and exclusively at a "Mad Hatter's Tea Party". When Martin failed to pay the over $8 million he owed in criminal fines and forfeitures (as a result of three felony convictions), from his cash -- the able USDC Judge ordered his assets seized, and sold -- by operation of law. Not by contract -- by law. "All right, title and interest" in and to the Wu-. That is what was sold. And then resold, to PleasrDAO. There was nothing wrongful about the following of the court's order.

Martin could have avoided all this, had he come up with the $8 million he then owed. But he chose (again!) to stiff a judgment creditor -- this time, the federal government. Bad idea.

So he clearly lost every right he could ever have claimed in and to the Wu- work: box, IP, recorded voices -- and all. There is no reversionary interest left for him. And it is a complete fiction to claim otherwise. Federal judgments cut off contract claims. And his is a contract claim for indemnity (and the supposed 50% reversion). Silly stuff, Marty.

In any event, here is Bloomberg Law ($$ subs. req.) on it all:

. . .Convicted hedge fund manager Martin Shkreli said two Wu-Tang Clan rappers are contractually committed to fund his defense -- and any judgment against him -- in a trade secrets case over the group’s one-of-a-kind album.

Robert “RZA” Diggs and Tarik “Cilvaringz” Azzourgarh must indemnify Shkreli in any case arising from his ownership of “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin” under a 2015 purchase agreement, he told the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York in a third-party complaint filed Tuesday.

Shkreli previously failed to add the rappers as necessary plaintiffs and as counterclaim defendants in the suit initiated by investor group PleasrDAO. . . .

This will be. . . tossed. [Do also recall that, after PleasrDAO bought it, Martin was playing his "bootleg" (wrongfully copied and retained) versions, over Discord and on YouTube live streams -- for all to hear. He even admitted on the live-streams that he knew that course of action violated the contract -- the same one he now speciously tries to claim "indemnity" under. Yikes.] Onward.

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The Contempt Orders… Roll In, Against Tangerine's Govt. Lawyers…

This too may be where we are headed in the latest Chicago class action, Case 26-cv-321. [Both the order and the NYT story are linked here.]

These jerks are not above the law -- see here:

. . .According to the ruling, by Judge Laura M. Provinzino of Federal District Court in Minnesota, the government failed to return “identification documents” belonging to Rigoberto Soto Jimenez, a detained immigrant whom she had ordered to be released with all of his property returned. The judge ordered a $500 daily fine imposed on Matthew Isihara, an administration lawyer, for each day the documents are not returned, beginning on Friday. . . .

'Bout time! Onward, grinning.

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