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Tue, 23 Dec 2025 21:40:00 +0000 Supreme Court Rejects Trump Bid To Deploy National Guard In Chicago
Supreme Court Rejects Trump Bid To Deploy National Guard In Chicago
Supreme Court Rejects Trump Bid To Deploy National Guard In Chicago
The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected Trump's emergency request to allow National Guard troops to be deployed in Chicago, dealing a setback to the admin's attempts to curtail high crime rates in major cities.
The 6-3 decision left in force a judge’s ruling that has blocked the deployment since Oct. 9.
“At this preliminary stage, the government has failed to identify a source of authority that would allow the military to execute the laws in Illinois,” the majority said.
The government hadn’t shown the president could legally “federalize the Guard in the exercise of inherent authority to protect federal personnel and property in Illinois.”
It is an unusual loss on the Supreme Court's emergency docket for the Trump administration.
In more than 20 other emergency appeals this year, the administration has won short-term rulings that allowed Trump to swiftly enact an array of policies that lower courts had blocked.
Justice Samuel Alito dissented from the high court’s ruling Tuesday, saying he had “serious doubts” about the majority’s reasoning .
“The Court fails to explain why the President’s inherent constitutional authority to protect federal officers and property is not sufficient to justify the use of National Guard members in the relevant area for precisely that purpose,” Alito wrote, joined by Justice Clarence Thomas .
Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote a separate dissent, contending that the challengers to the National Guard deployment - the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago - had forfeited the argument about the meaning of "regular forces" by failing to present that issue in the lower courts.
Trump contends military force is needed to protect federal immigration agents from what he claims are violent protests.
The court deliberated over the case for more than two months, an unusually lengthy review for a request that claimed government officials were facing an imminent threat.
Trump told the justices in his Oct. 17 application that troops were needed “to prevent ongoing and intolerable risks to the lives and safety of federal personnel.”
Bloomberg reports that the case marked the high court’s first look at Trump’s fight to dispatch troops to cities where his immigration crackdown has drawn widespread protests .
The ruling means Trump, at least for now, can’t deploy hundreds of troops in the Chicago area.
The case is Trump v. State of Illinois, 25a443 .
Tyler Durden
Tue, 12/23/2025 - 16:40 Close
Tue, 23 Dec 2025 21:20:00 +0000 How Trump Can Turn The Midterms Around
How Trump Can Turn The Midterms Around
How Trump Can Turn The Midterms Around
Authored by John Tillman via RealClearPolitics ,
Midterm elections go one of two ways. They’re either a validation of the sitting president, or they’re a repudiation. Historically, they’ve almost always been a repudiation.
The 2026 midterms are shaping up to be no different – a firm rebuke to Donald Trump. That’s obviously bad for him. Congress will spend two straight years investigating and likely impeaching him.
But the bigger danger is to America. Democratic control of Congress will jeopardize Republicans’ efforts to restore an economy of opportunity for all. Worse, the left will lay the groundwork for recapturing the White House in 2028, at which point they’ll implement the most anti-opportunity agenda in American history. We’re talking welfare for all, funded by crippling tax hikes and a federal takeover of a once free economy.
Can Donald Trump turn the midterms around? Only if he, his fellow Republicans, and their allies on the right make immediate changes. If they do, they could stem the losses in November – and maybe even defy the odds to expand their majorities in the House and Senate.
First and foremost: They need to realize that midterms hinge on turnout.
The reason midterms are usually a presidential repudiation is because voters from the other party are more motivated. They feel greater anger and intensity, and they show up. The president’s supporters, meanwhile, usually think they did their job when they elected their man. Why bother showing up again?
If President Trump’s supporters don’t show up, Republican defeat is guaranteed . The most urgent need, therefore, is to invest in a massive get-out-the-vote operation. The GOP needs one the likes of which it’s ever seen.
But such an effort also needs a message – something that resonates with voters and sparks them to action. That’s the second area where change is needed. Because right now, Republicans don’t have any meaningful message at all.
The left certainly does. Democratic politicians, their allies in the media, and their associated army of activists and nonprofits have rallied around a single word: Affordability. They’re tricking voters into thinking that all the inflation and financial pain that Joe Biden caused is really the fault of Donald Trump. The call to action writes itself: If voters want to make ends meet, their only hope is to vote the GOP out.
This message works, but only because Republicans are letting it work. They’re largely silent in the face of Democratic attacks. Worse, in the president’s case, he’s calling affordability a “hoax.” For voters who supported him because of Joe Biden’s inflation, nothing could be worse. It’s tantamount to saying their problems don’t matter.
Republicans must reclaim the economic high ground . They need to relentlessly hammer the point that Joe Biden’s enormous failures will take time to fix. They need to point to the relief they’ve given, especially the tax cuts the president signed in July. Most importantly, they need to lay out a unified agenda that speaks to Americans’ deep concerns, convincing voters that the GOP will in fact make life more affordable.
Crafting that agenda is as much the work of policy wonks as it is public relations. Republicans and their allies should be relentlessly message-testing and focus-grouping to discover not only what policies Americans want, but how to sell the policies that Americans need – in health care, housing, and beyond. This can be done without compromising conservative principles. In fact, it’s essential if those principles have a path to becoming policies.
There’s one more message the GOP needs. It’s not enough to make the positive case for their own priorities. They need to relentlessly remind Americans of the danger posed by Democrats.
This isn’t hard. The return of crippling inflation. The collapse of our borders once again. Higher taxes on the middle class. Republicans have a simple case to make: If voters want all of America to look more like crime-ridden, welfare-defrauding, utterly unaffordable big blue cities, they should vote for Democrats.
Republicans needed these messages yesterday. They needed a turnout operation that was already delivering these messages to the base and undecided voters alike. If they and their allies don’t get their act together before the start of the year, the midterm elections will indeed be a repudiation of Donald Trump. Worse, they’ll put America’s future at risk. The clock is ticking.
Tyler Durden
Tue, 12/23/2025 - 16:20 Close
Tue, 23 Dec 2025 20:45:00 +0000 "Winter Isn't Over": NatGas Soars As Another Cold Blast Targets US East
"Winter Isn't Over": NatGas Soars As Another Cold Blast Targets US East
U.S. natural gas futures surged the most since late October as one energy trader warned that "winter isn't over," with another wave of cold air set to spill in
Read more.....
"Winter Isn't Over": NatGas Soars As Another Cold Blast Targets US East
U.S. natural gas futures surged the most since late October as one energy trader warned that "winter isn't over," with another wave of cold air set to spill into the eastern half of the Lower 48 early next week. The upcoming cold blast arrives even as much of the U.S. enjoys a brief warm-up following an early-month polar vortex that plunged large parts of the U.S. East into Arctic-like conditions.
"Winter isn't over yet. Here are forecast anomalies for this time next week showing a large area of unseasonably chilly temperatures across the major population centers of the Eastern US," energy trader Celsius Energy wrote on X.
Celsius Energy noted, "Near-term #natgas demand will be quite volatile with very bearish daily storage withdrawals under +5 BCF/d through this weekend surging to nearly -30 BCF/d by this time next week, more than double the 5-yr avg. In general, these projections have improved considerably."
By late afternoon Tuesday, NatGas futures are up nearly 10%, the largest intraday jump since October 30's 17% price spike. Prices are trading around $4.365 per MMBtu.
Looking at Heating Degree Days for the Lower 48 - the weather-based measure of US heating demand -the index is projected to surge well above the 30-year average early next week and remain elevated through year-end.
Cold is returning to the eastern half of the Lower 48. Time to stack the firewood and get the gas-powered snowblower ready.
Tyler Durden
Tue, 12/23/2025 - 15:45 Close
Tue, 23 Dec 2025 20:29:00 +0000 Top Libyan General Confirmed Killed In Mysterious Private Jet Crash Departing Turkey
Top Libyan General Confirmed Killed In Mysterious Private Jet Crash Departing Turkey
Update(1529ET) : Tripoli has confirmed that the private jet which went down earlier as it departed Ankara was ca
Read more.....
Top Libyan General Confirmed Killed In Mysterious Private Jet Crash Departing Turkey
Update(1529ET) : Tripoli has confirmed that the private jet which went down earlier as it departed Ankara was carrying top military commanders of the Government of National Accord (GNA), which is the Libyan government ruling the western part of the country and supported by Turkey.
Tripoli's Army Chief of Staff Mohammed Ali Ahmed al-Haddad has been confirmed killed in the crash . While Turkey has been slow to confirm details as the wreckage has only within the last hour been located, the GNA has announced the death. Haddad and his officials were com ing off a meeting with Turkey's National Defense Minister Yasar Güler.
Naturally - given the high profile nature of the delegation - there will be questions over whether this was an accident, sabotage, or possible bomb blast. Some initial unconfirmed reports have mentioned an electrical failure. Haddad and the government he represented are bitter enemies of Gen. Khalifa Haftar in eastern Libya, which is supported by Russia . Turkey has been supporting the rulers in Tripoli from the start, soon after longtime ruler Gaddafi was overthrown in the NATO-backed war of 2011.
Still, Haftar in the wake of the aircraft downing is taking a polite and conciliatory tone, extending his condolences to his rivals...
* * *
In what could be the start of a major geopolitical crisis, moments ago Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said in a post on X that contact was lost with the private jet which was carrying Libya’s Army Chief of ? Staff, Mohammed Ali Ahmed al-Haddad, and four other passengers.
The Falcon-50 private jet had just taken off from the Turkish capital of Ankara in direction of Tripoli, Libya.
An emergency landing notification was received from the aircraft, at which point contact with the jet was lost, the Turkish minister added.
Contact was lost as of 8:52pm local time over the Turkish capital Ankara, broadcaster NTV reported as flight ?tracking data showed flights being diverted ?away from ?Ankara’s ? Esenboga airport.
As the following flight map from Flightradar24 shows , the plane was in the air for just a few minutes after take off, having reached an altitude of 32,400 feet when it disappeared from radar. The airplane of Yevgeny Prigozhin, once "Putin's chef" before his fall out with the Russian president, suffered a similar fate when allegedly the plane exploded near cruising altitude after a bomb went off inside of it.
Turkey's Hurriyet newspaper reports that the country shut down airspace over Ankara after the private jet incident.
Turkey’s ?defense ministry had ? announced ?the Libyan chief of staff’s ? visit to Ankara earlier this ?week, saying he had met his Turkish counterpart and other ?military commanders.
Bloomberg reports that the Dassault Falcon 50 was 37 years old and was operated by Harmony Jets, according to data from FlightRadar24. The aircraft had recently flown into Ankara from Tripoli on Dec. 22.
Haddad as Libya's army "chief of staff" is a reference only to the Tripoli-based GNA (Government of National Accord, or sometimes GNU) - one among several rival governments controlling Libya, but which is backed by the UN and especially Turkey.
However, what can be seen as the most powerful military is the Eastern government, based in Benghazi, led by warlord and general Khalifa Haftar, backed by Russia. Haftar soon after the war to overthrow Gaddafi returned from decades in exile in Virginia, where he lived with his family within a mere miles from CIA headquarters in Langley. Turkey has long been supporting a proxy war in Libya, against Haftar's forces, and against Russian interests .
Tyler Durden
Tue, 12/23/2025 - 15:29 Close
Tue, 23 Dec 2025 20:25:00 +0000 Obesity Economics: How Subsidies Distort The American Diet
Obesity Economics: How Subsidies Distort The American Diet
Obesity Economics: How Subsidies Distort The American Diet
Authored by Laura Williams via TheDailyEconomy.org,
"Was the government to prescribe to us our medicine and diet, our bodies would be in such keeping as our souls are now.”
-Thomas Jefferson
Let me introduce you to Sam. Sam has obesity, Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure. His diet consists mostly of refined grains and trans fats. He’s got cabinets full of dirt-cheap junk food and sky-high healthcare costs to address its effects. He takes home $27,000 a year, but spends $36,000. He’s in debt up to his jaundiced eyeballs, and he wants his niece to foot the bill for weight-loss medication .
As a real-life niece of my Uncle Sam, I’m concerned about his diet. Some 56.2 percent of the daily calories consumed by US adults come from federally subsidized food commodities: corn, soybeans, wheat, rice, sorghum, dairy, and livestock. While these calorie-dense foods once made sense for a government preparing for famine or total war , in recent decades they’ve instead helped make us fatter and sicker .
Obesity is a top driver of healthcare costs. One study compared the health of people who eat mostly foods the federal government subsidizes to those who eat fewer. Those who follow the revealed preferences of what the government subsidizes (rather than the diet it consciously recommends ) are almost 40 percent more likely to be obese and face significant diet-related health issues. Those with the highest consumption of federally subsidized foods also have significantly higher rates of belly fat, abnormal cholesterol, high levels of blood sugar, and more markers of chronic inflammation. All these are increasing contributors to the most common causes of death in the developed world.
The negative impact of subsidized crop consumption on health — while it can’t be called causal — persists even after controlling for age, sex, and socioeconomic factors. But life does not control for those factors.
The Great Grain Giveaway
The federal government recommends one diet to Americans, and subsidizes another. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans from the USDA and HHS promote eating fruits, vegetables, whole grains, protein, and moderate dairy, while limiting saturated fats, sugars, salt, and refined grains. According to data compiled for Meatonomics , American agribusiness receives about $38 billion annually in federal funding, with only 0.4 percent ($17 million) going to fruits and vegetables. Just three percent of cropland is devoted to fruits and vegetables, despite USDA guidelines ’ insistence that they should cover half of your dinner plate. Just 10 percent of Americans consume the recommended amount of fresh produce, and the poor consume the least. (Fruit and vegetable producers’ exclusion from the federal direct payments program provides a valuable example of a food industry thriving without significant subsidies . They do, however, rely heavily on migrant labor to lower costs.)
Instead, the US spends tens of billions annually to subsidize seven major commodities. The three largest farm subsidy programs contribute 70 percent of funds to producers of just three crops — corn, soybeans, and wheat. Approximately 30-40 percent of US corn, over half of soybeans, and nearly all sorghum feed livestock, heavily discounting high-fat, lower-nutrition meat and dairy (especially compared to grass-fed options ). The prevalence of grain-fed livestock generates demand for commodities used to feed them, completing the circle.
Subsidies also contribute to our consumption of refined grains, sugary drinks, and processed foods. About five percent of corn becomes artificially cheap high-fructose corn syrup (which allows it to compete with tariffed natural sugars ), and half of soybeans are processed into oils, which also contribute to obesity .
My Uncle Sam is sick because he eats the food the government makes artificially more affordable. Those foods are poorer in quality and more harmful to health than their unsubsidized alternatives. We are paying to make ourselves sicker.
Diet-Related Health Issues Fuel Healthcare Costs
For more than 20 years, the FDA has known that trans fats and refined grains harm health, damage metabolism, and cause disease. Diet-related illnesses like obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure are increasing, while heart disease remains the leading cause of death. These epidemics are intertwined at the artery level, and both contribute hugely to rising US health care costs.
In an economic order awash with subsidies and regulation, agricultural policy is health policy. Government subsidies for agricultural products have shaped the current American nutritional environment, and they are exacerbating obesity trends.
An article in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine confirms: “Current agricultural policy remains largely uninformed by public health discourse.”
Johns Hopkins physician (and current Commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration) Marty Makary called out the disconnect clearly. “Half of all federal spending is going to health care in its many hidden forms,” he told an interviewer in October, but Americans continue “getting sicker and sicker… Chronic diseases are on the rise. Cancers are on the rise. And we have the most medicated generation in human history.”
We’re getting more medicated every day — and more of it is at taxpayer expense.
A Better Answer Than Ozempic?
Government spending on healthcare now exceeds the entire discretionary budget . Excess weight is a significant risk for older Americans, who are also the most likely to both have high healthcare costs and to rely on government health care. Forty percent of Americans over 60 are classified as having obesity, which is a contributing or complicating factor in diseases that kill older Americans : cancers, heart disease, infection, stroke, and cirrhosis.
Late last year, the Food and Drug Administration approved the weight-loss drug Wegovy as a treatment for people at risk of heart attack or stroke. Medicare is forbidden by statute from covering prescription drugs for weight loss alone, but in 2021 regulators approved Wegovy for reducing weight-related risks in patients with diabetes. Medicare Part D plans spent $2.6 billion last year on related compound Ozempic to keep 500,000 patients with diabetes stable. Wegovy’s list price is around $1,300 per month, but that’s still small compared to the $1.4 trillion Americans spend on direct and indirect costs from obesity.
It has a certain economic logic. Instead of waiting for a patient to develop a cascade of expensive comorbidities like heart failure or diabetes, we could consider asking Medicare to pay for anti-obesity meds on the front end. That wouldn’t work as well as lifestyle changes , but all our health and activity messaging over the past several years doesn’t seem to have moved that needle, and significant evidence suggests our efforts are counterproductive.
The Tangled Web of Farm Subsidies
To understand the insanity of American agricultural and health policy, it’s hard to do better than comedian-illusionists Penn & Teller, who in characteristically salty style explained it this way 15 years ago:
High fructose corn syrup is a dirt-cheap way to add sweetener and extend shelf life. And why is it so cheap? Because we subsidize corn farmers! Our government gives about 10 billion of our tax dollars to corn farmers every year so they can produce more corn than we need. They then sell the corn at artificially low prices. They spend our money to make corn syrup cheap, and now the same government that uses our tax money to keep soft drinks cheap wants more of our tax money to make soft drinks more expensive. Does anyone else think this is incredibly f—d up?
Yes, Penn. We do. And since that clip aired, obesity rates have worsened 50 percent , and rose 78 percent in children. Medical spending on the consequences of obesity doubled . Over the same period, subsidies to corn growers (which includes disaster aid and insurance) have tripled .
Rather than cut back on his terrible diet, Uncle Sam wants us to pony up for weight loss drugs — to undo what our food policy has done.
Tyler Durden
Tue, 12/23/2025 - 15:25 Close
Tue, 23 Dec 2025 20:10:00 +0000 Goldman's Small-Cap Biotech Universe: The 2026 Catalyst Playbook For Investors
Goldman's Small-Cap Biotech Universe: The 2026 Catalyst Playbook For Investors
There are just nine days left in the year, and this year has flown by.
We've delivered readers a steady stream of Read more.....
Goldman's Small-Cap Biotech Universe: The 2026 Catalyst Playbook For Investors
There are just nine days left in the year, and this year has flown by.
We've delivered readers a steady stream of 2026 outlooks over the past few days and weeks, and next up is a year-ahead catalyst list from Goldman Sachs' small-cap biotech stock coverage .
Goldman analysts, led by Corinne Johnson, held their third "Year-Ahead" Catalyst Clinic , highlighting significant clinical catalysts for small-cap biotech companies (market caps under $3 billion) in their stock coverage universe.
Featured companies in the Catalyst Clinic included AbCellera Biologics, Allogene Therapeutics, Apogee Therapeutics, BioAge Labs, Entrada Therapeutics, Gossamer Bio, Gubra, Lyell Immunopharma, Recursion Pharmaceuticals, Sana Biotechnology, Sionna Therapeutics, Sera Prognostics, Tyra Biosciences, Viralgen, and Viridian Therapeutics.
Johnson said the sentiment from the event was mostly positive , with several names showing clearer paths to value-creating data in 2026.
Here are the key catalysts across Goldman's small-cap biotech coverage, spanning immunology, oncology, metabolic disease, rare disease, and cell and gene therapy. Across the group, management teams highlighted upcoming Phase 1 and Phase 2 readouts, pivotal trial starts, and regulatory milestones:
AbCellera (ABCL) : Ahead of proof of concept data from the Ph1 study (expected in mid-26), management underscored the vast opportunity for ABCL635, the company's most advanced wholly-owned asset under development for moderate-to-severe VMS associated with menopause. In particular, management discussed the benefits of an antibody approach (vs. small molecules) to targeting neurokinin 3 receptor (NK3R, which has been implicated in its role in neuroendocrine regulation and reproductive function), confidence in the ability of an antibody to cross the BBB and reach the receptor which sits on KNDy neurons in the hypothalamus (a key question for investors), and its expectations for a potentially differentiated profile per improved efficacy, safety/tolerability, and more attractive dosing regimen.
Allogene Therapeutics Inc. (ALLO) : The discussion centered on the interim analysis of the pivotal ALPHA3 study of CD19- targeted cema-cel in frontline consolidated large B-cell lymphoma, and initial clinical data from the Ph1 RESOLUTION study of CD19/CD70 dual-targeted ALLO-329 in autoimmune indications. On the former, management views the ~30% bar for the delta in minimal-residual disease (MRD) conversion rate vs. the observation arm as achievable and de-risking to the primary endpoint of event-free survival. Further, management highlighted the potential ~$5bn opportunity, aided by increasing utilization of CAR-T therapies in the community setting and awareness of MRD testing. On the Ph1 RESOLUTION study, management discussed the goal of establishing proof-of-concept and providing insights on the ability to eliminate lymphodepletion preconditioning.
Apogee Therapeutics Inc. (APGE) : We hosted APGE, where a catalyst-rich 2026 could potentially validate the product-in-a-pipeline potential for lead asset APG777 (anti-IL13). Management highlighted: 1) Ph1b data in mild-to-moderate asthma in 1Q26, where APGE seeks to demonstrate a Dupixent (anti-IL4Ra)-like profile, to support expansion into respiratory indications in combination with anti-TSLP (APG273); 2) Ph2 readouts in moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis, where management expects to validate 3QM/6QM dosing in the Part A maintenance study (data in 1Q26), and further interrogate exposure-response and inform dose selection for Ph3 (initiation in 2H26) in Part B (data in 2Q26); and 3) Ph1b proof-of-concept data evaluating the OX40L combination APG279 against Dupixent in 2H26, where management expects to demonstrate deeper and broader responses in a more heterogeneous patient population.
BioAge Labs (BIOA) : The discussion was focused on: (1) key 2026 catalysts, including additional Ph1 MAD data in 1H26 and Ph2a 12 week proof-of-concept data by YE26 in obese and inflamed patients to validate BGE-102's (oral CNS-penetrant, NLRP3 inhibitor) impact on hsCRP reduction, although management views weight loss benefit as pure upside; (2) BGE-102's potential in cardiovascular (CV) risk, where BIOA expects the NLRP3 class to be positioned as oral IL6 inhibitors, given the robust hsCRP reduction (~80%) seen with VTYX's asset earlier this year and in three patients with elevated baseline hsCRP treated with BGE-102 in Ph1 - albeit, BIOA seeks partnership to advance BGE-102 in CV risk; and (3) other prioritized indications for BGE-102 to be disclosed in the near-term, with feasible development pathways for a small biotech, where BIOA looks to establish differentiation leveraging BGE-102's strong penetration into the brain and retina.
Entrada Therapeutics Inc. (TRDA) : Management discussed: 1) potentially best-in-class efficacy with 40% dystrophin production after a single injection versus del zota's ~10-11%, 2) preferential safety given efficient excretion of the oligonucleotide components, thereby circumventing hypomagnesemia, and 3) greater drug efficiency at lower dosing levels supported by a smaller carrier size.
Gossamer Bio Inc. (GOSS) : Management discussed: 1) differentiation of its TKI seralutinib versus historical comparators given improved tolerability from systemic drug elimination and potential for disease remodeling, 2) the company's focus on an enriched population and statistical plan following learnings from the Phase 2 TORREY study, and 3) continued confidence in the regulatory outlook given consistency/alignment in interactions with the FDA.
Gubra A/S (GUBRA.CO) : Key takeaways from the discussion: 1) Gubra see potential for ABBV-295 (long-acting amylin) to perform in line with eloralintide in terms of efficacy, safety and tolerability, 2) management see ABBV-295's c.11 day half life and extended Cmax as supportive of a monthly dosing regimen, and 3) Gubra see ABBV-295 being used as both a monotherapy and in combination with a partner.
Lyell Immunopharma (LYEL) : The discussion focused on ronde-cel (autologous CD19/20-targeting CAR T-cell therapy) in relapsed/refractory large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL), including: (1) the longer-term Ph1/2 update at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) annual meeting, where the data continues to track competitively vs. approved CD19-targeted CAR T-cell therapies; and (2) pivotal trial strategy, where LYEL aims to demonstrate superiority vs. approved assets in the H2H study in 2L patients (enrollment initiation in early-2026), albeit approval is first expected in the 3L+ setting basis the PiNACLE study (final data in mid-2027, 2028 launch). Separately, LYEL also touched upon LYL273 in 3L+ metastatic colorectal cancer, where they expect further derisking per Ph1 updates in 2026 to support a pivotal start in 2027.
Sana Biotechnology (SANA) : Management and discussed the company's key programs, where, post the recent pipeline re-prioritization, the focus is on: (1) SC451, its HIP-modified stem cell-derived pancreatic islet cell therapy for type 1 diabetes (T1D) - where SANA highlighted alignment with regulators regarding the GMP master cell bank and the path to an Investigational New Drug Application (IND) and Ph1 start as early as 2026 (noting the potential for initial data in 2026), and (2) SG293, an in vivo CAR T with CD8-targeted fusogen delivery of a CD19-directed CAR for a range of B-cell mediated cancers and autoimmune diseases - where SANA highlighted deep B-cell depletion and immune reset achieved in non-human primates with no off-target toxicity (supporting a potentially best-in-class profile), and management expects an IND/Ph1 start for SG293 in B-cell cancers and B-cell mediated autoimmune diseases by 2027 (but noted the potential for an accelerated timeline with initial data in 2026).
Sionna Therapeutics (SION) : Ahead of Ph2a proof-of-concept data from NBD1 stabilizer SION-719 in cystic fibrosis as an add-on to VRTX's standard-of-care Trikafta in mid-2026, the discussion focused on: (1) the study's goal of establishing the synergistic and additive benefit of targeting NBD1 and confirming the translatability of SION's preclinical CFHBE assay, which is key to de-risking SION's dual combination approach (Ph1 healthy volunteer data in mid-2026); (2) the bar for success, which managements views as a =10mmol/L improvement in sweat chloride given its historical translation to a clinically meaningful lung function benefit; and (3) the forward development strategy — while a dual combination is the prioritized path, management sees the potential to progress SION-719 into later-stage development.
Spyre Therapeutics Inc. (SYRE) : Management discussed: 1) SYRE's relationship with Fairmount Funds, and related sister companies, 2) expectations for results from Part A of the SKYLINE study of 15-20% placebo-adjusted remission rates with comparator drugs annualizing at ~$5bn-10bn longer term, and 3) continued clinical progress for the SKYWAY study, with expectations heightened following the expansion of Roche's and Merck's TL1A programs, which SYRE views as validation of its approach.
Recursion Pharmaceuticals (RXRX) : RXRX's incoming CEO Najat Khan and CFO Ben Taylor discussed their key priorities: (1) translating insights from the AI-levered Recursion OS platform to differentiated clinical data - most recently, with the positive Ph1/2 REC-4881 data in familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP), where aligning with the FDA on pivotal design/endpoints is the key next step; (2) focused platform investments in high-value areas; and (3) financial discipline, including a high bar for advancement. Management also touched on the oncology programs, noting: REC-617 (CDK7) combination data in ovarian cancer in 1H27; first Ph1 data for REC-1245 (RBM39) in biomarker-enriched solid tumors/lymphoma in 1H26 and REC-3565 (MALT1) in B-cell malignancies in 1H27; and preclinical PI3Ka H1047R inhibitor REC-7735. Overall, we see the narrative changing for RXRX as it enters into late-stage development in FAP, and remain focused on execution on the prioritized programs.
Tyra Biosciences Inc. (TYRA) : Management discussed: 1) upcoming Ph2 readouts for dabogratinib ("dabo"; FGFR3 inhibitor) in intermediate risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (IR NMIBC; 1H26) and achondroplasia (2H26), 2) for IR NMIBC, expectations for >70% complete responses (CRs) for an oral therapy, with meaningful readthrough from 3-month data and potential for a Ph3 study, and 3) for achondroplasia, the goal to exceed average height velocity (AHV) of approved therapies (e.g., BMRN's Voxzogo) with at least 7cm/year AHV, supporting a multibrand strategy.
Viridian Therapeutics (VRDN) : Management discussed: 1) Veli's BLA status, anticipated decision on priority review by YE25, and potential launch as early as mid-2026, 2) VRDN is planning to launch veli in the US on its own and has been working toward an accelerated review timeline, 3) veli's differentiated profile can potentially expand the current market size of Tepezza by ~30%, 4) VRDN's Ph. 3 chronic trial enrolled all CAS scores and expects these results to be included in the label (vs. Tepezza's that lacks chronic results), 5) the bar for VRDN-003 is Tepezza-like efficacy, 6) VRDN believes the market can potentially grow ~2-3x at peak due to veli's and '003's potential to expand use in chronic TED.
Valneva SE (VLS.PA) : Key takeaways from our discussion: 1) Phase 3 readout from VALOR trial of VLA15 in Lyme is still expected in 1H26, 2) Valneva reiterated that the aim has always been for VLA15 to deliver more favourable efficacy to that achieved by LYMErix, and 3) management highlighted the importance of an ACIP for VLA15 in the commercial rollout.
Overall, the Catalyst Clinic indicates 2026 will be a data-heavy year for Goldman's small-cap biotech stock universe.
More broadly, the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB), the largest and most widely used ETF for broad exposure to U.S. biotechnology companies, has reached new record highs after trading largely sideways since 2021.
For Johnson's stock ratings on each of the companies above, along with detailed 12-month price targets, ZeroHedge Pro subscribers can access the full note in the usual place .
Tyler Durden
Tue, 12/23/2025 - 15:10 Close
Tue, 23 Dec 2025 19:50:00 +0000 John Brennan Lawyers Confirm Their Client Is A "Target" Of A Grand Jury Investigation
John Brennan Lawyers Confirm Their Client Is A "Target" Of A Grand Jury Investigation
John Brennan Lawyers Confirm Their Client Is A "Target" Of A Grand Jury Investigation
Authored by Sundance via The Last Refuge ,
Lawfare lawyer Kenneth Wainstein representing former CIA Director John Brennan confirmed in a proactive litigation letter to Chief Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga of the Federal District Court for the Southern District of Florida, their client is a “target” of a grand jury investigation.
The word “target” is important here , because the letter specifically outlines how Brennan has received subpoenas for documents and information surrounding his construct of the 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment.
The letter notes that prosecutors from the Office of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Jason Reding Quiñones, have advised Mr. Brennan that he is “a target” of a grand jury investigation.
[SOURCE ]
The letter by is by Mr. Kenneth Wainstein, a partner in Mayer/Brown law firm, Washington DC, who served in the administrations of Presidents George W. Bush and Joseph R. Biden Jr., and he describes a “concocted case” and “politically motivated and fact-free criminal investigation.”
Wainstein is seeking proactive intervention by Chief Judge Altonaga to block U.S. Attorney Quinones from seeking jurisdiction in the Fort Pierce Division , the court with jurisdiction over the Mar-a-Lago raid, led by Judge Aileen Cannon.
I strongly urge everyone interested to READ THE ENTIRE LETTER to understand why I shared prior warnings about the nonsense ramblings of perhaps well-intentioned voices who will create problems for this case against Brennan if it is to continue.
Pay attention to the footnotes being cited by Brennan’s lawyers as they begin to pull in some of the commentary by voices who have publicly given opinion about the overall Trump targeting operation. Mike Davis name appears frequently in this letter, as the Brennan defense team begins to frame the conspiratorial nature of some claims against their client.
In essence, the Brennan legal team are attempting to refute the evidence by pointing to the blanket of some crazy commentary that covers it. This is exactly what I have been cautioning about {SEE HERE }.
U.S Attorney Quinones already faces an uphill battle, because John Durham already reviewed the ICA origination as part of his investigation – but Durham never prosecuted anyone inside government.
This year, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard released a tranche of background information, [114 pages of information ], showing how the Obama administration intentionally and with great purpose fabricated the Russia election interference story. DNI Tulsi Gabbard Press Release Here – Files Containing Evidence Here
What the evidence shows is a focused targeting operation intended to fabricate a false premise by the United States Intelligence Community, centered around a fraudulent CIA analysis (ICA) led by John Brennan, and organized through the Office of former DNI James Clapper. The op was green-lighted by Barack Obama as a way to impede the agenda of incoming President Donald Trump. All three branches of government eventually collaborated on the scheme.
Lawyers for John Brennan are now seeking to proactively undermine the grand jury proceedings and influence the venue where any investigation and review might be taking place. [pdf, Page 9]
In addition to sending the letter to the Southern District of Florida, John Brennan also sent the letter to the New York Times to help him frame a media defense.
[…] Pursuing the case in Fort Pierce, Fla., would draw jurors from a more conservative area than the District of Columbia and put it under Judge Cannon, who showed Mr. Trump unusual favor during the documents investigation. In particular, Mike Davis, an influential former Republican Senate staff aide and friend of Mr. Reding Quiñones, has pushed the idea of a Fort Pierce grand jury, warning Mr. Trump’s adversaries to “lawyer up.” (read more )
Again, get familiar with this letter, because you will find me citing it quite a bit in the next few weeks.
Wainstein and Brennan have made a significant strategic mistake by detailing their defenses, specifically by framing the background context of prior investigative authorities in their positions. What they have inadvertently done for Jason Quiñones is to give a potential expanded witness list for a conspiracy review.
With information from a mountain of previous research, Quiñones can now call ancillary actors to testify as to the nature of their participation based on the storyline of Brennan. Wainstein even cited the Robert Mueller investigation as part of his defense for his client.
Example, people like the SSCI chair Rubio, and/or Vice-Chair Warner, along with Feinstein’s lead staff Dan Jones, and/or the SSCI Security Director James Wolfe, can be called to answer questions within a grand jury proceeding based on the claims of Brennan’s defense team in this letter.
Former DNI James Clapper, former NSA Director Mike Rogers, former National Security Advisor Susan Rice and former counterintelligence officers could all be questioned based on Brennan’s defense.
All of the Brennan defense citations in the letter open up pathways for Quinones questioning.
Tyler Durden
Tue, 12/23/2025 - 14:50 Close
Tue, 23 Dec 2025 19:20:00 +0000 More Ukrainian Strikes On Russian Energy Sector Amid Ongoing Pressure For Zelensky To Make Concessions
More Ukrainian Strikes On Russian Energy Sector Amid Ongoing Pressure For Zelensky To Make Concessions
Ukraine is desperately hitting back at Russia's energy sector at a moment it remains under immense pressure from Washingt
Read more.....
More Ukrainian Strikes On Russian Energy Sector Amid Ongoing Pressure For Zelensky To Make Concessions
Ukraine is desperately hitting back at Russia's energy sector at a moment it remains under immense pressure from Washington to make serious concessions which might lead to achieving a peace deal.
Overnight drone attacks attempted to inflict damage on the Stavrolen petrochemical plant in southwestern Russia. The operation appeared at least somewhat successful amid reports of fires at the site, and as Russia confirmed attempts to intercept inbound drones.
Ukrainian drones attempted to attack the energy targets in the town of Budyonnovsk, triggering air defenses, with the regional governor confirming "There are fires in the industrial zone" and that "Emergency services are on site" - however thankfully that there were no casualties or damage to surrounding homes. Unverified videos widely circulating online do show large flames in the sky from the direction of the plant.
These Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian oil and energy sites have slowed compared to their high tempo of a month ago and prior.
This could in part be because every time Ukraine hits Russian territory with a significant or damaging attack, Russia's military comes back harder with large-scale retaliation on Ukraine's own critical infrastructure.
Early Tuesday witnessed another huge Russian aerial attack across Ukraine which reportedly killed three people and plunged who regions into darkness. Local media details , "Explosions were reported across multiple regions, including Rivne and the Ivano-Frankivsk region in the far west, with hits recorded in the towns of Burshtyn and Rohatyn. The blasts were also heard near Cherkasy, as well as in Odesa, Khmelnytskyi, Ternopil, and Zhytomyr regions."
BBC related President Zelensky's description of the fresh attack as follows :
Russia carried out a "massive" overnight attack on several Ukrainian cities, President Volodymyr Zelensky has said, a day after he warned of strikes over the Christmas period.
At least three people were killed, according to Ukrainian officials, including a four-year-old child, while energy infrastructure was also targeted, leaving several regions without power.
Russia launched 635 drones and 38 missiles , Ukraine's air force said, adding that 621 of them were downed.
Zelensky said "people simply want to be with their families, at home, and safe" in the run-up to Christmas, and said the strikes sent "an extremely clear signal about Russia's priorities" despite ongoing peace talks.
Damaged home from Russia's fresh assault which spanned several cities and regions of Ukraine:
Power has been cut to many thousands in freezing winter temperatures across Ukraine , as the national energy ministry confirmed there would have to be more rolling blackouts as immediate repair work to the damage is undertaken.
Such power restrictions have become to the norm in various parts of Ukraine. Even US leaders have acknowledged that the energy grid is being degraded and damaged faster than it could possibly be repaired, and no solutions have been offered.
Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha has called on "collective transatlantic strength" in the face of these attacks and said that peace must be forced on Moscow . "This can be achieved through increasing the cost of continuing this war for the aggressor," he said on X.
Tyler Durden
Tue, 12/23/2025 - 14:20 Close
Tue, 23 Dec 2025 19:00:00 +0000 Chicago's Guaranteed Income Guarantees Less Opportunity
Chicago's Guaranteed Income Guarantees Less Opportunity
Chicago's Guaranteed Income Guarantees Less Opportunity
Authored by Josh Bandoch via RealClearPolitics ,
There have been more than 150 guaranteed income pilot programs implemented across the country, but only one has made its program permanent – Cook County, Illinois.
The county, which includes Chicago, became the first place in America to commit to a taxpayer-funded program indefinitely, serving as the nucleus for expanding the scope of these programs nationally. Taxpayers and recipients beware.
A guaranteed income program is simple: Give low-income people a monthly amount of money to use as they see fit. These payments are in addition to other welfare benefits they receive, and don’t come with any requirements to work, to learn better money management, or to get job training.
The idea is to promote equity and help the poor and disadvantaged, a noble goal, but in practice it can harm families by reducing work, income, and opportunity.
They’re extremely expensive, too, and threaten to wreck the finances of any city or state that implements them with ever-higher taxes.
Cook County used $42 million in funds from the American Rescue Plan to run a two-year pilot program that provided 3,250 low- to moderate-income participants with $500 per month.
The results? One firm committed to “equitable economic development” found four apparent benefits.
Their modeling estimated that households directly spent 55.8% of the money received. The $42 million investment generated only $8.3 million annually for local businesses and a $5.4 million increase in annual economic output in Cook County. Generating $286,000 in tax revenue, $44,000 of which stayed in Cook County.
One concern with these findings is that no results from a control group were reported. There’s no way of knowing if the increases were a result of these 3,250 recipients or if it was simply a post-pandemic boon.
The county is continuing the program in 2026 at a cost of $7.5 million to local taxpayers.
Another study of a more rigorous Chicago-area pilot program with a control group found that the program discouraged participants from working and reduced their earned income.
Taking part in the pilot actually lowered participants’ earned income by $1800, excluding program payments. Recipients’ workforce participation dropped by 3.9 percentage points.
Participants and, surprisingly, others in the recipient’s household, ended up reducing their hours worked per week. Children who grow up around full-time working adults are more likely to climb the economic ladder, so this reduction in work threatens the future of participants’ children.
Still, the appetite for guaranteed income programs is rapidly expanding in Illinois and nationally. Illinois allocated $827,272 in its 2026 budget to fund a pilot.
In October, Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) reintroduced the Guaranteed Income Pilot Act , with the stated goal of lifting people out of poverty. The federal program would select 20,000 participants.
Of them, 10,000 would receive “a cash payment each month equal to the fair market rent for a 2-bedroom home in the ZIP Code in which the eligible individual resides, or a substantially similar amount.” In Chicago, the payment would increase to $2,670 per month. In New York, it’d be $2910 . A control group would contain 10,000 people.
A final report on the program would explicitly be required to study the feasibility of expanding the program. The goal of these programs – sometimes explicitly stated – is to cover more people.
The federal government spend s $1.2 trillion on welfare programs. Despite all that spending, the federal poverty rate has stubbornly hovered between 11% and 15% for decades.
Providing no-strings cash payments won’t solve poverty, and it won’t ensure recipients can gain the skills and experiences necessary to climb the economic ladder.
The best way to help low-income Americans is to expand opportunity. This starts by removing systemic barriers the government has created that disincentivize work.
America’s welfare system makes it economically rational and psychologically understandable for poor people to reject opportunities due to “benefits cliffs.” Increases in income through raises and promotions can cause recipients to lose more in welfare benefits than they gain in higher earnings.
To solve these cliffs, federal lawmakers should consolidate programs to reduce redundancy, standardize benefit reductions across programs, and streamline benefit delivery systems.
State and local elected officials should focus on empowering people through work rather than disincentivizing it. The best way to do this is to adopt a career-first education system that’ll ensure people have the skills they need to work and cast aside the broken degree-first model.
With guaranteed income programs gaining traction, we need to instead embrace the reality that the only proven way to guarantee more income and opportunity and help low-income Americans is work.
Tyler Durden
Tue, 12/23/2025 - 14:00 Close
Tue, 23 Dec 2025 18:55:00 +0000 MSM Stays Silent As Horrific Video Emerges Of Attack On 75-Year-Old Woman In Seattle
MSM Stays Silent As Horrific Video Emerges Of Attack On 75-Year-Old Woman In Seattle
Outside of local reporting in Seattle, corporate media outlets at the national level have entirely ignored the brutal attack on a 75-year-o
Read more.....
MSM Stays Silent As Horrific Video Emerges Of Attack On 75-Year-Old Woman In Seattle
Outside of local reporting in Seattle, corporate media outlets at the national level have entirely ignored the brutal attack on a 75-year-old woman by a repeat offender . The silence is telling and underscores how progressive criminal justice reforms continue to backfire spectacularly, enabling a revolving-door chaotic environment that releases serial offenders back onto the streets with nation-killing consequences .
That's correct. There has been no coverage in the mainstream press . The reason is very simple: corporate media outlets no longer function as independent news organizations, but as public-relations arms that filter stories based on narrative control rather than public importance.
KOMO News released new surveillance video showing a horrific and random attack outside the King County Courthouse in downtown Seattle earlier this month.
According to charging documents, 42-year-old Fale Vaigalepa Pea used a wooden stick with a protruding screw to strike 75-year-old Jeanette Marken in the face.
KOMO said court records show Pea has been known to law enforcement for years and has a long history of violent behavior.
In 2011, Pea stabbed two people at a party in SeaTac , including one victim who was stabbed eight times. He was later convicted by a jury and sentenced to 18 months of community custody. Since then, he has been charged in multiple assault cases , including one in 2020, four in 2023, and another in 2024.
This year alone, Pea has been booked into the King County Jail eight times . Despite repeated arrests for assault, indecent exposure, drug offenses, property destruction, unlawful use of weapons, and malicious mischief, none of those arrests this year resulted in charges before the random attack on the 75-year-old woman.
Pea now faces a first-degree assault charge and is scheduled for a competency hearing later this month. Prosecutors argue that his actions and criminal history show he's a danger to the community.
What's most shocking is that body camera footage from officers at the scene described Pea as a "regular" and noted, "He's notorious for random assaults on Third."
Elon Musk commented on the shocking video on X, saying, "This keeps happening to innocent people."
Musk is likely referring to the fatal stabbing in Charlotte of a Ukrainian refugee by yet another serial offender released onto the street by progressive judges.
It's time to hold left-wing politicians, judges, and anyone in between accountable for allowing repeat criminals back onto the streets, slaying the innocent.
In the meantime, continue to avoid crime-ridden, Democrat-run cities and stay vigilant. None of this chaos should be happening, yet it has been allowed through nation-killing policies pushed by Democrats who follow a globalist framework aimed at undermining America from within .
Tyler Durden
Tue, 12/23/2025 - 13:55 Close