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More Now, On The Baikonur Mishap: This Is Out In A Very Remote Section Of Kazakhstan… ~700 Miles, To Truck In Very Heavy Replacement Parts [Likely From A… Museum?!] — Or Rebuild, On Site(?)

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Well, the good news is that Russia’s launch tech is very well-vetted (or very. . . old, if you prefer — with earlier item, here). It is being said by people with knowlege of the
matter that the Gagarin Museum houses what may be a working version of the damaged equipment — and, in any event that might be speedier than trying to rebuild, from scratch, off of perhaps 68 year old blueprints… in an area reachable only by semi trucks, over dirt roads, after a perhaps 700 mile drive. And that, after a long jet ride (for any newly-constructed assemblies).

The story will be very gratifying, here — to Russian national pride, though — if some of the now-ancient Yuri Gagarin first flight equipment is pressed back into service — here, in the 21st Century. Not so much a mishap story — as a redemptive, and historical one. [“The old Soviet engineers built things… to last.“]

We will have to wait — and see. Here’s the latest, from insiders:

…[A] drone flying around the launch complex showed Site 31/6’s mobile maintenance cabin lying upside down in the flame trench….

The main issue with the structure collapse is that it puts Site 31/6 — the only Russian launch site capable of launching crew and cargo to the International Space Station (ISS) — out of service until the structure is fixed. There are other Soyuz 2 rocket launch pads, but they are either located at an unsuitable latitude, like Plesetsk, or not certified for crewed flights, like Vostochny, or decommissioned and transferred to a museum, like Gagarin’s Start at Baikonur….

When the rocket launched, a pressure difference was created between the space under the rocket, where gases from running engines are discharged, and the nook where the maintenance cabin was located. The resulting pressure difference pulled the service cabin out of the nook and threw it into the flame trench, where it fell upside down from a height of 20 meters.

Photos of the accident showed significant damage to the maintenance cabin, which, according to experts, is too extensive to allow for repairs. The only way to resume launches from Site 31/6 is to install a spare maintenance cabin or construct a new one….

This is a significant set-back, and yet ironically, it may make Musk’s rockets the newly primary way — to get crewed missions to and from the ISS — for perhaps the next 12 to 18 months. [Semi-serious Q.: is it possible that Musk paid some low level worker, at the site, to “let” this mishap occur? Only the equipment was damaged — and it makes him a monopolist, for now. Hmm.] We shall see. Onward.

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Lilly’s Smart Move — To Drop Prices — And Ramp Up Volumes, In The US Weight Loss Markets… Future Is Very Bright For The Indiana Drug-Maker.

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To be clear, this has next to nothing to do with Lilly’s “pen-form” dosings of a different formulation for diabetes / weight loss, one that will see list prices reduced NEXT YEAR (if ever) under a supposed Trump negotiated agreement.

No, this is a separate “make up on volume” what you drop in price VOLUNTARY marketing effort. And it will — I am sure — pay off handsomely for Lilly. [To be fair, if the pen form drops price in 2026 — it too will likely make it all back, on US volumes.]

Disclosure: I have long held a substantial Lilly position, since it was $560 or so, and it is now over… $1,030. But this entry point is also a fine one, as many analysts have the 12 month target above $1,200.

I admit that I’ve long believed sensible eating — along with vigorous exercise — are the best means to control weight. But given that diabetes (much of it related to obesity, in truth) has become a very high burden US disease, this fleet of drugs is absolutely going to sell into the mid-$30 billion of dollars per year, in the coming years. And that will (sort of sadly) persist, into the 2040s. So hop this train while you still might make a killing, on even modestly-invested dollars. [The risk of losing it all is only a smidge higher than a US government default on its own bonds.] Here’s the latest from CNBC.com:

…Starting Monday, cash-paying patients with a valid prescription can get the starting dose of Zepbound vials for as low as $299 per month on LillyDirect, down from a previous price of $349 per month. They can also access the next dose, 5 milligrams, for $399 per month and all other doses for $449 per month, down from $499 per month across those sizes.

Zepbound carries a list price of roughly $1,086 per month. That price point, and spotty insurance coverage for weight loss drugs in the U.S., have been significant barriers to access for some patients….

Eli Lilly’s stock… has climbed more than 36% this year…. Its meteoric rise due to the success of Zepbound and its diabetes injection Mounjaro vaulted it to becoming the first health-care company to hit a $1 trillion market value last month….

Onward, now you know — Lilly once again played “rope-a-dope” on Tangerine. [Yes, this is my “power alley“.] And it all comes, as large lazy flakes are wheeling down now, almost in slow motion, on the updrafts — landing atop the foot of white stuff we already have down, here. Looks like the heavy metal shovel is in my future, once more, later this evening. Heh.

[Of course, as to all of the above, you should do your own due diligence. Out.]

नमस्ते

Both Chris Williams And Jonny Kim Recently Hopped Soyuz Rockets To The ISS — But It Looks Like The Baikonur Cosmodrome Facility Is Out Of Commission For A Few Months, Now…

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Chris Williams and his fellow crew mates safely arrived at the ISS, last week — but on liftoff, the Kazakhstan launch facility took some serious damage [it was plainly some ground level malfunction — and likely, a fairly large. . . explosion, of some sort].

Here’s the latest, with a NASA comment, at the end:

…While the Soyuz MS-28 crew on board the rocket, including cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergey Mikayev, as well as NASA astronaut Christopher Williams, safely made it to the International Space Station, the launch pad was heavily damaged in the process. Drone footage shows the platform’s mobile maintenance cabin lying upside down inside the flame trench, with experts telling NASASpaceflight that it could take months if not years to be repaired.

It’s a significant setback, because the damaged pad is Russia’s only certified launch site for crewed missions to space….

Drone footage shows the platform’s mobile maintenance cabin lying upside down inside the flame trench, with experts telling NASASpaceflight that it could take months if not years to be repaired….

“NASA is aware Roscosmos is inspecting Launch Pad 6 at Site 31 following launch of the Soyuz MS-28 on November 27 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan,” a NASA spokesperson told Futurism in a statement. “NASA coordinates closely with its international partners, including Roscosmos, for the safe operations of the International Space Station and its crew members….”

For its part, the government head of Russia’s space efforts says that nation is committed to supporting ISS flights through 2028. But that was before this significant cock-up. We shall see. Onward.

नमस्ते

Bovino’s Shock Troops Have Left — With Their Tails Between Their Legs — From Chicagoland. Woot!

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So it is, that when the people rise up, and peacefully assert their rights… the totalitarians… fold. [It is fascinating that in other federal litigation, Mr. Bovino was sternly chided by other judges, for a documented pattern of brutality and false testimony by federal agents — and the man, himself — USDC Judge Ellis herself explicitly reprimanded Bovino for being “evasive, uncredible and ‘outright lying’“. She stated that the government’s own evidence often supported the plaintiffs’ claims and undermined Bovino’s often preposterous assertions. Charming work, there, Greg. Damn]

In any event, here is the latest filing in the Seventh Circuit, from my buddies — and the meat of it:

…This case has involved extensive, time-consuming litigation in a compressed time period.

Recently, however, the situation that precipitated this litigation has changed in a material way. Specifically, the roughly 200-225 DHS agents led by Defendant Bovino are no longer operating in the Northern District of Illinois, and Plaintiffs’ counsel have not received any report of unconstitutional behavior that was the subject of this litigation since November 8, 2025.

In light of these developments, today the Plaintiffs — the Class Representatives and the other individual named plaintiffs — moved the district court to dismiss the case with prejudice….

Defendants-Appellants consent to this motion to stay the pending appeal to give the district court the time required to dismiss the case with prejudice. Plaintiffs-Appellees have agreed that they will consent to a motion by Defendants-Appellants to dismiss this appeal and vacate the district court’s decision under Munsingwear.

Plaintiffs-Appellees respectfully request that the Court decide this motion before Friday December 5, 2025, given the impending briefing deadlines in this expedited appeal….

Onward, grinning — indeed when the mobsters leave town, the people sleep soundly. Onward, then, to Music City — arriving this coming Sunday night, through Tuesday night. Then back to the frozen tundra. Heh.

नमस्ते

Update From Jinka, Ethiopia: 349 Contacts Being Monitored For The Dread Marburg Virus — With No Approved Vaccine Yet.

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We first mentioned this outbreak at mid-November 2025. This is the first known outbreak of the wildly-lethal Marburg (a distant cousin to Ebola), in Ethiopia.

And it does offer the opportunity to conduct a clinical trial in country, on a very promising vaccine candidate. It has shown both safety and some efficacy in non-controlled settings, thus far. But the top-line here is that up to 350 people were potentially exposed, through contact, with the index case, or the close contacts of the index case. So, it is an urgent public health matter.

Here’s the latest, from CIRAP reporting, at the U. of Minn.:

…There are now 12 confirmed cases in the outbreak, which was first reported in mid-November and is occurring in the southern part of the country. Last week, the Ministry of Health said that 73 suspected case-patients have been tested so far, and 349 contacts were being monitored. Three patients have recovered, and one is still in treatment….

This is Ethiopia’s first outbreak of the severe and often deadly viral hemorrhagic fever, which is typically transmitted to people from fruit bats, can spread through contact with bodily fluids and contaminated materials, and is in the same family as Ebola. Nineteen outbreaks have previously been reported globally.

The case-fatality rate in previous outbreaks has ranged from 24% to 88%. Unlike with Ebola, there is no vaccine.

In a media briefing today, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, said the WHO is providing testing supplies and protective equipment for health care workers and deploying experts to support local authorities….

Now you know — with sunshine now melting the additional inch that fell here, in the wee hours — still over a foot on the ground, with more due by tomorrow night. Hilarious!

नमस्ते

Power Alley: Merck Now Smartly Financing The Coming Cidara Transaction Closing… With Various Debt Maturities.

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We mentioned this ~$9.2 billion flu-therapy M&A move, just last month. Now Rahway will issue at least eight buckets of debt securities — to keep the capital ratios in balance — on its balance sheet, as it likely brings euro cash home over the next forty years, to repay these instruments. [That — it turns out — is a very smart way to bring home cash, without paying any “repatriation” level US federal taxes.]

Here is the red herring prospectus, for all of that. The debt deals will close in three elapsed days — generating 8/9ths of the cash proceeds needed to close with Cidara. Cool. Per Bloomberg, then — subs. req. — thus no link:

…Merck & Co Inc. raised $8 billion through a US investment-grade dollar bond offering, with part of the proceeds expected to help fund its proposed acquisition of Cidara Therapeutics Inc., according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The pharmaceutical company’s offering was split in eight parts, with maturities ranging from three to 40 years, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private details.

The spread for the longest portion of the deal — a $1 billion note maturing in 2065 — tightened to 1 percentage point above Treasuries, from 1.2 percentage points initially, the people added….

Sweet. But it is hardly private — a final 424(b) will be filed at the SEC — for the world to see — by tomorrow morning, no doubt. Onward.

नमस्ते

More Strong Solar Eruptions, As Of Last Evening…

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This Solar Max Cycle — Number 25 of the modern era (really since we have been closely observing them, with telescopes) — has been particularly active.

This flare erupted at an oblique angle relative to Earth, so we are unlikely to see much cell-traffic disruption or aurorae, from it. We shall see — but if it is to arrive, it will be sometime tonight, US time:

…NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of a solar flare — seen as the bright flash — on Nov. 30, 2025.

This flare is classified as an X1.9 flare. X-class denotes the most intense flares, while the number provides more information about its strength….

The image shows a subset of extreme ultraviolet light that highlights the extremely hot material in flares and which is colorized in orange and yellow….

Now you know… “she rises, in the night, like a red hot coal — with a moan, through the trees….” Actually — that would be/is Mars. Grin.

नमस्ते

Update: Ms. McDonald Has Been Set Free, In NYC…

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Well — she is FINALLY free. USDC Judge VArgas in Manhattan is to be commended for acting very swiftly to end her lawless incarceration.

But she should never have been swept up, in the first place. She was attending her hearings, and progressing through the immigration court system in New York.

She would be well-advised to bring a multi-million dollar false arrest suit / malicious prosecution case, against Noem, et al., now.

Here’s the final order closing her habeas case — just entered this afternoon:

…CLERK’S JUDGMENT re:

[20] Opinion & Order. in favor of Shawnet Nickesha Mcdonald against Kristi Noem, LaDeon Francis, Pam Bondi.

It is hereby ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED:

That for the reasons stated in the Court’s Opinion and Order dated November 26, 2025, the Petition is GRANTED; accordingly, the case is closed.

(Signed by Clerk of Court Tammi M Hellwig on 12/1/2025)….

Onward, resolutely. Onward.

नमस्ते

Look — The MSM Says The Loud Part… Softly (Or, Not At All). Leaves Out Key Info, For US Citizen Travelers, Today. Yikes.

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Ahem. By long-standing, undisputed federal statutes, my US Passport must be accepted at all US airports –as my valid travel ID.

There can be no “add-on” (a/k/a junk) fees assessed — just because Tangerine wants everyone to get a “Real ID”, and submit to his cronies’ biometric monitoring.

I will never pay for a Real ID. Nor will I ever procure one.

I will keep my US Passport up to date, and will travel the globe with it — long after Trump is gone from the world stage. I encourage others to do the same. So… why the rant?

Today, the WSJ.com and ABC.com (and others) are reporting that starting in February 2026, TSA at many US airports will attempt to charge an added $45 fee, for passengers without a Real ID — those flying with “just” a State issued driver’s license. What the stories omit… is that if you have a passport, the TSA must accept that as evidence of identity for all domestic (and international) travel. Damn — e.g., see here:

…Travelers going through airport security checkpoints without a REAL ID or passport will face a $45 fee starting Feb. 1, the Transportation Security Administration announced Monday.

This fee is part of the agency’s next phase of the REAL ID implementation process and will require individuals to verify their identity through a biometric or biographic system if they don’t have a compliant form of identification before they’re permitted to cross through the checkpoint.

The announcement follows a proposed rule published in the Federal Register last month, but the agency increased the fee from its previously proposed amount of $18….

Stand on — and insist on — your rights. Your passport grants you all the privileges you need. Do not pay added (junk) fees. Especially not to… Trump and Musk (who clearly each want to collect and monetize the data streams from Real IDs). Onward.

नमस्ते

Good Bioscience / Vaccine News: The 2025 DRC Ebola Flare-Up Is… At An End!

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The dying might have stopped at fewer than five [all in there were 10X that many, this time — at least 45 fatalities] — in this sixteenth outbreak, had USAID not been sidelined by Musk and Trump. But this is good news, just the same: the 2025 Ebola outbreak in DRC has been arrested. Ended. Put down — with real bioscience (are you paying attention, RFK, Jr.?!).

Here is the WHO press release — overnight, in Africa — and a bit:

…Kinshasa — The Democratic Republic of the Congo today declared the end of the Ebola virus disease outbreak in Kasai Province, after no new cases were reported in the past 42 days since the last patient was discharged from treatment centre on 19 October 2025.

“On behalf of the government — and taking into account all the scientific and operational indicators confirming that the chain of transmission of the virus has been broken — I hereby officially declare the end of the 16th Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,” said Dr Samuel Roger Kamba, Minister of Public Health, Hygiene and Social Welfare.

The rapid and coordinated response by the Ministry of Health, with support from World Health Organization (WHO) and partners, was pivotal in halting the spread of the virus which affected Bulape Health Zone, a rural community with limited road and telecommunication infrastructure. In total, 64 cases (53 confirmed, 11 probable) and 45 deaths were recorded in the outbreak.

A total of 112 WHO experts and frontline responders were deployed to support the national authorities to swiftly scale up and sustain the response, and over 150 tonnes of medical supplies and equipment were delivered to protect health workers and communities….

To protect communities and health workers, more than 47,500 people were vaccinated against Ebola, with vaccination initially targeting contacts of people confirmed with the virus and later expanded to communities in and around Bulape….

Onward, into Monday’s sunshine — smiling, at what comes in just seven days, in Music City.

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