Smoke rises in Tel Aviv after missiles break through Israeli air defenses

 Israel launched large-scale airstrikes against Iran on Friday in an attempt to destroy its nuclear program and kill its military leaders.

Israeli spies infiltrated the heart of Iran before Friday morning’s Operation Rising Lion airstrikes.

'Significant damage' reported at two Tel Aviv missile impact sites

NICOSIA, Cyprus -- Iranian missiles have caused "significant damage" at at least two impact sites in Tel Aviv, Israeli security sources tell The Post.

An explosion is seen during a missile attack in Tel Aviv.AP

Fire and smoke rise from a building in central Tel Aviv.AFP via Getty Images

Israeli Iron Dome air defense system fires to intercept missiles over Tel Aviv.AP

An unknown number of people have also been injured, but the extent of those injuries is not clear.

Live TV pictures show a fire burning in what appears to be a damaged high-rise apartment building.

24 minutes ago

Third wave of Iranian missiles launched toward Israel

NICOSIA, Cyprus -- Iran has fired a third barrage of missiles targeting Israel, The Post has learned.

34 minutes ago

Photos: Iranian missiles breach Israeli air defenses

By Sarah Ng

Smoke could be seen rising over Tel Aviv after Iran fired more than 100 missiles at Israel.

Air raid sirens sounded in Jerusalem and loud blasts were heard as the Israeli military said it detected a missile launched from Iran. 

Smoke rises after a missile attack in Tel Aviv.AP

Rocket trails in the sky above Jerusalem.AFP via Getty Images

The Israeli Iron Dome air defense system responded to the attack above Tel Aviv to intercept the missiles.

The Israeli Iron Dome air defense system fires to intercept missiles over Tel Aviv.AP37 minutes ago

Iran launches second salvo of ballistic missiles at Israel

Air raid sirens are blaring across Israel again as it braces for a second round of Iranian ballistic missiles.

"The firing continues. Another volley of dozens of missiles was launched towards the State of Israel," the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement Friday.

"You are asked to continue to obey the instructions of the Home Front Command and the instructions that are being distributed to you."

"The explosions you hear come from interceptions or crashes. The air defense system constantly identifies and intercepts threats."

https://nypost.com/2025/06/13/world-news/israel-strikes-iran-live-updates-analysis-photos-more/

J&J: dual-targeting CAR T-cell therapy shows encouraging first results in large B-cell lymphoma

 Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) announced today the first clinical data from an ongoing Phase 1b study for JNJ-90014496 (JNJ-4496), an investigational dual-targeting anti-CD19/CD20 bispecific autologous chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, being studied in patients with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma (R/R LBCL) who have not been previously treated with CAR T-cell therapy.¹ Findings demonstrate the potential of JNJ-4496 in the treatment of patients with R/R LBCL, including R/R diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) – the most common type of aggressive lymphoma, a blood cancer that originates in the lymphatic system.^1,2 These data were presented as an oral presentation at the 2025 European Hematology Association (EHA) Congress (Abstract #S239).¹

JNJ-4496, formerly known as C-CAR039, is a dual-targeting CAR T designed to bind to both CD19 and CD20 antigens — two cell surface proteins commonly expressed on malignant B-cells. This design, including a 4-1BB costimulatory domain, is intended to enhance binding strength and persistence, also potentially addressing common mechanisms of resistance in relapsed or refractory disease.

In the Phase 1b dose confirmation study (NCT05421663) in patients with R/R LBCL, data at the recommended Phase 2 dose (RP2D) were reported in patients with a median follow-up of 4 months. Results informed a RP2D of JNJ-4496 at 75 million CAR+ T-cells. Among the 22 patients in the RP2D group where efficacy was assessed, those who received one prior line of therapy (n=10) had an objective response rate (ORR) of 100 percent and a complete response rate (CRR) of 80 percent (95 percent confidence interval (CI), 69, 100). In the patients who had received two or more prior lines of therapy (n=12), the ORR was 92 percent and the CRR was 75 percent (95 percent CI, 62, 100).¹

"There is a pressing need to continue advancing therapies for patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Only about 40 percent of patients have long-term remissions with currently available single-antigen-targeting CD19 CAR T therapies," said Krish Patel*, M.D., Director of Lymphoma Research, Sarah Cannon Research Institute (SCRI), and principal study investigator. "The data presented today show encouraging clinical activity and promising safety, and represent a step forward in delivering a potential new treatment option to patients living with the most common type of aggressive lymphoma."

Within the RP2D safety group (n=25), 52 percent of patients (n=13) received two or more prior lines of therapy, and 56 percent (n=14) received bridging therapy. In the RP2D cohort studied, no cases of Grade 3 or 4 cytokine release syndrome were observed. Two patients had immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS), one Grade 1 and one Grade 3. The Grade 3 event occurred in a patient with central nervous system (CNS) lymphoma. Overall, 84 percent of patients (n=21) had Grade 3/4 treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs), and 28 percent (n=7) reported serious TEAEs. The most common Grade 3/4 TEAE was neutropenia, a reduction in white blood cells (72 percent). One patient experienced a Grade 3 infection.¹

^{https://www.streetinsider.com/Corporate+News/Johnson+%26+Johnson+%28JNJ%29+says+dual-targeting+CAR+T-cell+therapy+shows+encouraging+first+results+in+large+B-cell+lymphoma/24934411.html}

Data at EULAR back Biogen, UCB's first-in-class lupus drug

 Full results from the first phase 3 trial of UCB and Biogen's anti-CD40L antibody dapirolizumab pegol (DZP) in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have been revealed, and have not disappointed.

Presented at the EULAR congress in Barcelona this week, the PHOENYCS GO study in moderate to severe, treatment-refractory SLE patients showed significant improvements when DZP was added to standard treatment on a wide range of symptoms and markers of disease activity.

SLE is a chronic and highly debilitating autoimmune disease that affects multiple organ systems – with a range of symptoms extending from rash and arthritis to seizures and psychosis – and disproportionately affects women, with around 200,000 people living with the condition in the US alone.

After 48 weeks, 40.9% of patients treated with DZP in PHOENYCS GO achieved the Lupus Low Disease Activity State (LLDAS) endpoint, which means that they were showing no disease activity in major organ systems and no other symptoms like anaemia, compared to 19.6% of those assigned to standard treatment plus placebo.

All told, 19.2% of the DZP group obtained complete remission at that timepoint, versus 8.4% of the placebo group, according to study investigator Eric Morand of Monash Hospital in Australia, who presented the data at EULAR. There were also signs that patients needed lower doses of steroids, which are a standard therapy for SE, but can have serious side effects, especially when used long term.

A second trial will be needed before UCB and Biogen can file DZP with regulators, and the PHOENYCS FLY study is currently underway with results due in 2027.

Morand said that the drug "has the potential to become a significant new medication for people living with SLE […] and I look forward to seeing results from the second phase 3 study."

Meanwhile, DZP-treated patients showed consistent improvements in fatigue, a common and debilitating symptom of SLE, on the FACIT-Fatigue and FATIGUE-PRO, which were significantly better than the control group, according to Ioannis Parodis of Karolinska University Hospital in Sweden.

Fatigue is a common manifestation of SLE, but is "a difficult-to-treat symptom that can severely impact a person's quality of life, and remains a challenge to address," he said. "The results we observed in this phase 3 study indicate that participants treated with [DZP] have the potential to achieve consistent improvements in fatigue beyond the current standard of care."

Other CD40L-directed therapies in the industry pipeline include Sanofi's frexalimab – in phase 3 for multiple sclerosis and phase 2 for SLE and type 1 diabetes – and Novartis' iscalimab, which was in testing for various indications, including SLE, but now only has Sjogren's syndrome listed in Novartis' latest pipeline update.

Merck's enpatoran heading for phase 3

Also at EULAR, Merck KGaA presented phase 2 data with its oral TLR7/8 inhibitor enpatoran in SLE, saying that it intends to start a phase 3 programme for the drug in some forms of the disease, even though the drug missed the primary endpoint in the study.

Data from Cohort B of the WILLOW trial showed that enpatoran achieved improvements in measures of both systemic and cutaneous disease activity in prespecified SLE subpopulations despite standard of care, measured using the BICLA scale.

The overall population did not see a statistically significant improvement on that measure, although, patients with skin involvement – either cutaneous SLE or SLE with active rash – saw a greater, significant benefit with a response rate of 58.6% versus 31.7% for placebo.

Skin manifestations of SLE "are often part of the systemic activity or flare, which can be painful and have a considerable impact on quality of life," said Morand.

Merck said it will now start discussions with regulatory authorities to try to define a route to approval for enpatoran in SLE.

https://pharmaphorum.com/news/data-eular-back-biogen-ucbs-first-class-lupus-drug

Interior Department Announces $200 Billion LNG Supply Agreements With Japan

 by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

U.S. companies have finalized sales agreements with Japanese power generation giant JERA Co. Inc. for it to purchase up to 5.5 million tons per year of American liquefied natural gas (LNG), the Department of the Interior (DOI) said in a June 11 statement.

A liquefied natural gas tanker arrives at a gas storage station in Chiba prefecture, Japan, on April 6, 2009. STR/JIJI Press/AFP via Getty Images

The four 20-year agreements, which are projected to “support more than 50,000 U.S. jobs and add more than $200 billion to U.S. GDP according to S&P Global analysis, underscore President Trump’s efforts to unleash American LNG production and the significant role the U.S. LNG industry plays in strengthening the U.S. economy and bolstering global energy security,” the DOI said.

JERA’s deal with NextDecade Corporation, Commonwealth LNG, Sempra Infrastructure, and Cheniere Marketing LLC involves procuring LNG from the U.S. Gulf Coast.

The finalization of the deal was announced by JERA, the U.S. companies, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, and Energy Secretary Chris Wright.

In a June 12 statement, JERA said the companies offer LNG at competitive prices and with flexible contract terms. The value of these transactions exceeds JERA’s total equity investment in the United States, currently $6 billion.

JERA’s existing operations in the United States include LNG procurement contracts for 3.5 million tons per year with Freeport LNG and Cameron LNG, and a 1 million ton per year agreement with Venture Global CP2.

JERA’s recent decision to buy up to 5.5 million tons of LNG annually from the United States is a “message to the world that American LNG is back thanks to President Trump.”

“We’re leading on the world stage,” Burgum said.

“America is no longer begging for foreign energy—we’re producing it cleaner, smarter, better, and more reliably than the rest of the world.”

Under the Trump administration, several steps have been taken to boost the U.S. energy sector, including supporting LNG exports.

An LNG tanker is guided by tug boats at the Cheniere Sabine Pass LNG export unit in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, on April 14, 2022. Marcy de Luna/Reuters

On Feb. 14, President Donald Trump issued an executive order creating the National Energy Dominance Council. The council is tasked with advising the president on “strategies to achieve energy dominance by improving the processes for permitting, production, generation, distribution, regulation, and transportation across all forms of American energy.”

On May 2, the DOI said it planned to revise an offshore rule from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management that would “massively cut costs and red tape” linked to the current process.

The updated rule will “free up billions of dollars for American producers to use to lease, explore, drill, and produce oil and gas in the Gulf of America while protecting American taxpayers against high-risk decommission liabilities,” the department said.

On May 19, the Trump administration announced it would end a Biden-era pause on LNG export approvals, arguing that higher exports benefit the United States by supporting allies and boosting the domestic economy.

LNG Exports

Last month, the Department of Energy (DOE) said it had made several key findings related to U.S. LNG export capability.

In December 2024, the agency published a study on LNG exports and invited public comment through March 20.

After taking into account the study and public comments, the DOE found that the United States has a “robust natural gas supply that is sufficient to meet growing levels of exports while minimizing impacts to domestic prices.”

Boosting LNG exports was also identified as having “no discernible impact” on global greenhouse gas emissions.

“President Trump was given a mandate to unleash American energy dominance, and that includes U.S. LNG exports,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in a May 19 statement. “The facts are clear: expanding America’s LNG exports is good for Americans and good for the world.”

According to a March 27 analysis by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the United States remained the world’s largest LNG exporter in 2024, exporting 11.9 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of LNG.

In an April 3 analysis, the EIA said it expects American LNG exports to “continue growing, driven by the start-up of three new facilities: Plaquemines LNG (Phases 1 and 2), Corpus Christi LNG Stage 3, and Golden Pass LNG.”

“These facilities have a combined nominal export capacity of 5.3 Bcf/d (up to 6.3 Bcf/d peak capacity) and will expand the existing U.S. LNG export capacity by almost 50 percent once these projects become fully operational,” the agency said.

https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/interior-department-announces-200-billion-lng-supply-agreements-japan

Four Plead Guilty In $550 Million USAID Bribery Scheme

 Four men have pleaded guilty to a $550 million US Agency for International Development (USAID) bribery scheme, which resulted in 14 contracts being improperly awarded to companies involved in the fraud, the Department of Justice announced in a June 12 statement. 

The U.S. Agency for International Development logo is covered with black tape in Washington on Feb. 7, 2025. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

• Robert Watson, 57, USAID contracting officer living in Maryland pleaded guilty to bribing a public official. 

• Walter Barnes, 56, of Maryland and owner of of Vistant, pleaded guilty to commit bribery of a public official and securities fraud.
• 
  
• Darryl Britt, 64, of Florida and owner of Apprio, Inc. pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery of a public official.

• Paul Young, 62, of Maryland - the president of a subcontractor to both Vistant and Apprio, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery of a public official. 

Vistant and Apprio are small businesses which were certified under the US Small Business Administration's 8(a) contracting program - which helps small businesses deemed socially and economically disadvantaged.

The bribery scheme began in 2013 according to court documents, which claim that while Watson was a USAID contracting officer, he agreed to take bribes from Britt in exchange for using his position at USAID to award contracts to Apprio - for which Vistant was a subcontractor in one of the awards.

After Apprio became ineligible for contracts with USAID, Vistant moved up and became the subcontractor for USAID projects awarded through Watson's influence between 2018 and 2022. 

Both Vistant and Apprio have "greed to admit criminal liability," and "engaging in a conspiracy to commit bribery of a public official and securities fraud," according to the DOJ. 

As the Epoch Times notes further, during the scheme, Watson is alleged to have received bribes from Britt and Barnes that were often concealed by passing the funds through Young.

“Britt and Barnes also regularly funneled bribes to Watson, including cash, laptops, thousands of dollars in tickets to a suite at an NBA game, a country club wedding, downpayments on two residential mortgages, cellular phones, and jobs for relatives,” the DOJ said.

“The bribes were also often concealed through electronic bank transfers falsely listing Watson on payroll, incorporated shell companies, and false invoices. Watson is alleged to have received bribes valued at more than approximately $1 million as part of the scheme.”

All four individuals are scheduled to be sentenced at various dates between July and October. Watson is facing a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, with the other three individuals facing a prison term of up to five years.

”The defendants sought to enrich themselves at the expense of American taxpayers through bribery and fraud,” the head of the Justice Department’s criminal division, Matthew R. Galeotti, said. “Their scheme violated the public trust by corrupting the federal government’s procurement process.”

The Epoch Times reached out to legal representatives for Barnes and Watson but did not receive a response by publication time. The Epoch Times was unable to reach legal representatives for Britt and Young.

Dismantling USAID

The Trump administration has been seeking to dismantle USAID.

In February, then-presidential adviser Elon Musk said President Donald Trump had agreed that USAID should be shut down.

“It became apparent that its [sic] not an apple with a worm it in,” Musk said. “What we have is just a ball of worms. You’ve got to basically get rid of the whole thing. It’s beyond repair.”

On March 10, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the State Department had canceled about 83 percent of USAID contracts.

“The 5200 contracts that are now cancelled spent tens of billions of dollars in ways that did not serve, (and in some cases even harmed), the core national interests of the United States,” he said on social media platform X.

The department decided to keep the remaining contracts, numbering roughly 1,000.

The administration also terminated or placed on leave most USAID employees while shutting down the agency headquarters, which was taken over by the Customs and Border Patrol employees.

On March 18, a federal judge ruled that Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency team likely violated the U.S. Constitution in seeking to dismantle the agency.

The judge ordered that access for USAID workers and contractors be reinstated and that no further actions related to terminating contracts or workers be taken.

The Trump administration is currently pushing a bill through Congress rescinding $9.4 billion in federal spending, including USAID programs.

The rescissions aim to cut “wasteful foreign assistance spending at the Department of State and USAID and through other international assistance programs,” according to a May 28 letter sent to Trump by Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget.

“These rescissions would eliminate programs that are antithetical to American interests, such as funding the World Health Organization, LGBTQI+ activities, ‘equity’ programs, radical Green New Deal-type policies, and color revolutions in hostile places around the world,” the letter stated.

On June 12, the House of Representatives passed the bill. It now goes to the Senate.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/four-plead-guilty-550-million-usaid-bribery-scheme

NHTSA Tweaks Robotaxi Rules To Unleash "Rapid Innovation"

 What a week for the electric vehicle space in America.

First, President Trump publicly mended ties with Elon Musk, calling him a "friend" just a week after their viral feud. Then came the policy hammer: Trump signed three congressional resolutions dismantling California's EV mandate and terminating the federal clean vehicle credit. Musk? Unfazed. With Tesla's dominance in the EV industry and rivals like Rivian and Lucid on life support, this could be the final chapter (explained by Musk one year ago) in the multi-year EV price war, leaving Tesla as the last one standing. 

With the current events out of the way, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has updated its exemption process under the Automated Vehicle (AV) Framework to accelerate the safe deployment of vehicles with Automated Driving Systems (ADS). The current exemption process (Part 555) was built for legacy vehicles and has proven too slow and rigid for the unique challenges of ADS-equipped vehicles.

What's changing:

Streamlined Exemptions: NHTSA will expedite exemptions for ADS-equipped vehicles to keep pace with rapid innovation and ensure safety technologies can be tested and deployed faster.

• Enhanced Guidance: New application instructions will help manufacturers provide better information upfront, reducing back-and-forth delays.

• Flexible Oversight: NHTSA will move away from a one-size-fits-all approach and adopt more dynamic, adaptive oversight throughout the lifecycle of AV exemptions.

Full NHTSA Memo:

The move to support AVs comes just days before Tesla officially rolls out its robotaxi service in Austin, Texas. 

In a post on X, Musk wrote earlier this week that the current plan is for the robotaxi launch to take place on Sunday.

"We are being super paranoid about safety, so the date could shift," he said. 

On Tuesday, Tesla's self-driving robotaxis were spotted on the streets of Austin. 

Also, in France...

We shared with ZeroHedge Pro Subs a Goldman note at the start of the week that shows the AV rideshare market is poised to enter hypergrowth... 

https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/nhtsa-tweaks-robotaxi-rules-unleash-rapid-innovation

Left’s martyr-making machine is in overdrive—recasting criminals, rioters, and radicals as victims

by Victor Davis Hanson

The entire career of race-baiter Al Sharpton was founded on falsehoods about the Tawana Brawley scam.


Nearly everything the left told us about the Trayvon Martin fight was false.


The “hands up, don’t shoot” Ferguson fable and the Covington Kids myth were quickly exposed.


The Duke Lacrosse and Jussie Smollett melodramas were laughable.

Russian “collusion,” “laptop” disinformation, and Joe Biden “fit as a fiddle” gaslighting were utter lies.


But more recently, the hard left lost its mind championing a host of violent, unsavory characters.

The illegal alien and El Salvadorian national, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, was portrayed as a victim of unfair deportation in the left’s larger, losing war for open borders.


Garcia became a “Maryland Man”: a supposed poor victim of Trump overreach.

He was constructed as a family man engaged in construction to feed his family, who somehow forgot to become “documented” and was deported.


In truth, Garcia is now facing felony indictments for human trafficking. He was a likely MS-13 gang member, a violent and bullying woman-beater, and rarely employed gainfully in construction.

Luigi Mangione was a rich, spoiled kid who dabbled in Jacobin politics.


Posing as a revolutionary, Mangione ambushed Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare. He murdered him in cold blood near a New York hotel.

Instantly, some on the left embraced Mangione as a revolutionary hero who delivered justice to a supposedly greedy corporate capitalist.


Mohamed Soliman, like Garcia, was a violent illegal alien. He bragged about his hatred of Jews in general and Israel in particular.

So Soliman made some Molotov cocktails and tried to incinerate Jewish marchers advocating on behalf of Israeli hostages still held by Hamas.

Soliman’s wife and five children, to whom Soliman filmed a video explaining his dedication to violent jihad, were also illegal aliens.

Soliman may well have preferred to burn Jews to remind us of the fires of the Holocaust ovens.


In the mind of the mainstream liberal media, the Soliman family was cruelly detained by the evil Trump administration that was considering returning the illegal aliens to their Middle East homes.

But recently, during the LA riots, the left went completely crazy as the entire Democrat Party and California state officials sided with violent protesters and illegal aliens.
The open border rioters soon got the message that left-wing California officials were on their side.

So, throngs began burning cars. Illegal aliens waved Mexican flags and burned American flags.


Protesters spat on law enforcement and pelted them with rocks, firecrackers, and concrete blocks.

Stores were looted. Critical freeways were swarmed and shut down.

And for what?

To protest the legal efforts of ICE to serve deportation warrants to a few hundred of some 10-12 million illegal aliens who had illegally swarmed into the U.S. during the Biden administration’s four-year destruction of immigration law.


California Governor Gavin Newsom damned the federal immigration efforts as “chaotic” and “reckless” and seemed obsessed only with Trump.

Then Newsom dared ICE to arrest him.

Like some antebellum, neo-Confederate, states’ rights activist, Newsom threatened to withhold California’s federal income taxes from the federal government—a possible felony.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass—recently infamous for junketing in Ghana while Pacific Palisades burned down—warned ICE that “We will not stand for this.”


What did her threat mean? Did she intend to use force to support the street thugs against her fellow American officers?

California Democrat Congresswoman Norma Torres screamed at overwhelmed ICE agents seeking to issue arrest warrants with the obscene threat, “Get the f— out of LA.”


As the mob violence increased and public outrage grew, a desperate and now embarrassed Newsom could only double down on his obsessions with Donald Trump.

What has caused Newsom’s Trump Derangement Syndrome?


Is it because Trump called out the National Guard and Marines to aid an overwhelmed Los Angeles Police Department to stop the violence that left-wing officials and the media had appeased?

In sum, is the left once again trying to commit political suicide?


Polls showed overwhelming public support for deporting those who illegally entered and reside in the US, especially the nearly half a million believed criminals.

Trump’s own most supportive demographic in recent polls has been Hispanics. Like all Americans, they are appalled by violent thugs and illegal aliens waving Mexican flags who have no wish to return to Mexico while burning American flags as they demand illegally to stay in the U.S.


The more the incoherent left claimed the protests were “peaceful” and damned the Trump administration for sending them help, the more the violence continued.

And the more the public was relieved that Trump was trying to stop the riots.


Democrats currently lack sane and effective leaders.

But that is no excuse to swoon over creepy gangbangers, spoiled-brat assassins, anti-Semitic burners of Jews, and illegal aliens breaking the law and damning America—while waving Mexican flags.

https://amgreatness.com/2025/06/12/the-rogues-new-gallery-of-left-wing-scoundrels/