FASTER, PLEASE: New-wave reactor technology could kick-start a nuclear renaissance — and the US is banking on it.

“THE WEAPONIZATION OF BALLOT ACCESS CONTINUES”: Oregon Supreme Court Bars 10 Republicans From Running for Reelection, but Not for the Reason You Think.

If the elections are one-sided, there’s no reason for the other side to abide by them.

PRIORITIES: Two-thirds of House Dems vote against bill passed to deport illegal immigrants with DUI convictions. “The vote tally was 215 Republicans and 59 Democrats in favor of the bill and 150 Democrats, including House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, voting against it. The bill passed 274-150.”

MEANWHILE, OVER AT VODKAPUNDIT [VIP]: You’ll Never Believe What This Squad Member Just Said About Walgreens.

HOW IT STARTED:

Judge Kathaleen McCormick rescinded Elon Musk's $55 billion Tesla compensation package, overturning the company's board and 80% of its shareholders.

McCormick also ruled against @elonmusk during his Twitter acquisition.

Before becoming the head of the Delaware Chancery Court,… pic.twitter.com/k2F4CHDJuT

— KanekoaTheGreat (@KanekoaTheGreat) February 1, 2024

More:

Before becoming the head of the Delaware Chancery Court, McCormick worked at a Delaware law firm called Young Conaway.

This firm and its employees have been major donors to President Joe Biden for decades.

In 2016, Hunter Biden hosted a gubernatorial campaign event for Congressman John Carney, with then-Vice President Joe Biden as the guest speaker.

This event took place at the Law Offices of Young Conaway in Wilmington, Delaware.

Full details at Twitter/X.

How it’s going: Musk seeks Tesla shareholder vote on moving incorporation to Texas.

UPDATE (FROM GLENN): From the comments: Flashback: Rogue State: The case against Delaware. From the 2002 New Republic.

MEANWHILE, OVER AT VODKAPUNDIT: How Do You Solve a Problem Like Boeing? “Readers here and at Instapundit have had the discussion time and again about how putting the finance people in charge ruined a once-great engineering firm, but I realize now that the rot runs even deeper. While the company’s fortunes burn, management sits there with its coffee and stock options, saying, ‘This is FINE.'”

OUCH: Over 500 journalists were laid off in January 2024 alone.

ADS BUT STILL NOT FREE: You’ll Pay Amazon to Watch Their Commercials (And They Think You’ll Like It). “Looking back, the American television viewing experience probably peaked shortly after the turn of the century.”

COME SEE THE ANTISEMITISM INHERENT IN THE LEFTISM: Penn Lecturer Is Behind Grotesque Anti-Semitic Cartoons.

IT ONLY SEEMED IMPOSSIBLE: Fake News Is Getting Even Faker.

SHOT: Red Sea supply chain inflation may be peaking already, new trade data suggests.

Chaser: White House says first response to Jordan drone attack WON’T be the last as it prepares for ‘weeks’ of strikes and blames Islamic Resistance in Iraq for ‘facilitating’ killing of three U.S. troops.

We might not have seen nothin’ yet.

CATHERINE SALGADO: Exclusive: J6 Prisoner Details Abusive Prison Conditions.

THIS COULD BE BIG: New pain medicine may be safer alternative to opioids.

For now, the drug from Vertex Pharmaceuticals is called VX-548. But in trials of patients undergoing abdominoplasties (tummy tucks) and foot bunion surgeries, VX-548 performed better than placebo at easing post-op pain, with no major safety issues seen.

It didn’t bring superior pain relief compared with the opioid Vicodin (hydrocodone bitartrate/acetaminophen), the trial found, but it scored similarly to Vicodin on a standard measure called the Numeric Pain Rating Scale.

Non-addictive but as effective as Vicodin could be a game-changer — unless and until the FDA finds an excuse to slap as many controls on it as they have opioids.

SCENES FROM WEIMAR AMERICA: Montana Parents Lose Custody of Daughter for Opposing Her Gender Transition.

ET TU, CALIFORNIA? California EV Sales Dropped Two Quarters in a Row Last Year.

Automakers have seen wavering demand for EVs across the country, but California has always been the stronghold for electric adoption and infrastructure. Even so, the tides turned late last year, which could signal slower times ahead for the industry.

EV sales fell for two consecutive quarters last year, down ten percent between Q3 and Q4, to 89,993 registrations. As Automotive News pointed out, the state still registers a substantial number of EVs, and they accounted for 21.4 percent of auto sales last year. California regulators want all vehicle sales to be for zero-emissions models by 2035, so any downturn is cause for concern.

The mandates will continue until morale improves.

POLLS BASED ON HYPOTHETICALS AREN’T THE MOST RELIABLE: If Trump Is Convicted of a Crime, How Much, If Any, Support Would He Lose?

XI’S GOTTA HAVE IT: Chinese stocks have lost $6 trillion in 3 years. Here’s what you need to know. “The world’s second largest economy is plagued by a myriad of problems. They include a record downturn in real estate, deflation, debt, a falling birthrate and shrinking work force, as well as a shift towards ideology-driven policies that has rattled the private sector and scared away foreign firms.”

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: Biden’s America — Jail Time for Praying, but It’s OK to Beat Up a Cop. “It has never been more obvious that Garland’s goon squad is focused on ruining the lives of any American who might vote Republican. Sure, they were motivated by hatred for Trump in the beginning and targeted his supporters, but I truly believe that they want to eliminate all political opposition now. Libertarians might want to start being more vigilant.”

THE NEW SPACE RACE: 1,000 days in space! Core module of China’s Tiangong space station hits milestone.

The landmark highlights the technological and engineering capabilities of China’s space industry, which has greatly expanded its activities in recent years.

China aims to keep Tiangong operating for at least a decade. Starting with Shenzhou 12 in 2021, six crewed missions have visited Tianhe and been kept comfortable by its life support systems and sleeping quarters. The current occupants are the Shenzhou 17 crew, who are just over halfway through their six-month-long mission aboard Tiangong.

A video released by China’s human spaceflight agency to mark the milestone shows clips of the launch, views of Earth from orbit, the interior of Tianhe, including working and personal areas, various Shenzhou mission astronauts at work, and a microgravity science laboratory cabinet.

Tiangong is just 20% as massive as the 460-ton International Space Station (ISS), but its presence provides another human outpost for science in orbit. Tiangong also contributed to a new record of 17 people in orbit at one time, set in May 2023.

China is, however, planning to expand Tiangong beyond its basic, three-module configuration with further modules.

NASA doesn’t have much of a plan for what will replace the ISS, set to be “deorbited in a controlled manner” around 2030.

“FUNCTIONAL” WAS NEVER IN THE CARDS: New James O’Keefe Undercover Video Exposes Dysfunctional Biden White House. “Within hours of O’Keefe sharing this video on social media, Charlie Kraiger deleted his social media accounts.”

DIESEL WORKS: Trucker warns over impact of EVs: Failure of technology could be ‘catastrophic.’

During an interview on FOX Business’ “The Big Money Show,” JKC Trucking co-owner Mike Kucharski explained that while he supports the integration of green energy, new EPA regulations are “extremely frustrating” and cautioned that technology could come at a “catastrophic” price.

He warned that the trucking industry is particularly susceptible to the consequences of pushing electric vehicles “too fast with little testing and data.”
“Electric trucks, No. 1, are too expensive, and this technology is being pushed through way, way too fast with little testing and data,” he shared.

“Truckers need proven technology, because if technology fails, the entire supply chain will be dead in the water. Failure is not merely inconvenient, it’s catastrophic. And this is not an option, especially for the food supply chain of America.”

Don’t worry. Pete Buttigieg is on it.

LESSONS FROM UKRAINE [VIP]: Drones Are Great, But… ”

There’s more than one reason that the frontlines in Ukraine are mostly frozen into place like the trenches of the Western Front in the Great War, but perhaps the most stubborn is the fact that neither side controls the air. Neither side is likely to, either, in the foreseeable future.

Yet both Russia and Ukraine have plenty of drones, and weren’t they supposed to be the future of airpower?

Yes and no.

There are actually two issues here, depending on how high in the sky you want to look.

Much more at the link.

KEVIN DOWNEY JR: The United States of Allah: It Happened in My Neighborhood, Yours Is Next. “Many of the churches are gone. So are most of the bars. All of the Polish businesses have long since vacated. The once omnipotent Kowalski sausage has been replaced by halal meat. If you want to buy paczki today, you need to head to Sterling Heights.”

BREAKING: Judge Rules on Disney’s Federal Suit Against DeSantis. “Score one more for Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) in the legal skirmishes against Disney.”

IT’S TIME TO STOP MISUNDERSTIMATING HIM: Joe Biden Just Entered the Presidential Quotes Hall of Fame. Really.