Eli Lilly agrees to acquire cancer drug maker Kelonia in deal worth up to $7 billion

Source: CNBC

“Eli Lilly will acquire biotech company Kelonia Therapeutics in a deal worth up to $7 billion, the company said Monday. Lilly will pay $3.25 billion upfront, and the remaining payments are contingent upon clinical, regulatory and commercial milestones, it said. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2026. Kelonia is developing technology to reprogram patients’ T-cells inside the body so those cells can attack cancer, called in vivo CAR-T. Current treatments require that work to be done outside the body, or ex vivo, a process that involves harvesting cells, engineering them in a lab and then reintroducing them. While logistically intensive, the procedure has been successful for blood cancers like multiple myeloma.” (04/20/26)

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/04/20/eli-lilly-to-acquire-cancer-drug-maker-kelonia.html

SCOTUS rejects Massachusetts school gender-identity policy challenge

Source: Reuters

“The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to hear a bid by parents to sue a public school district in Massachusetts over actions by teachers and officials to support the gender ​identity of students by not disclosing name or pronoun changes to parents without the child’s consent. The justices turned away an appeal by ‌the parents of a student who had self-identified as ‘genderqueer’ while attending a middle school in the Massachusetts town of Ludlow after a lower court threw out their lawsuit. The plaintiffs claimed officials treated their child as nonbinary and hid this information from them in violation of their fundamental parental rights as protected by the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment promise of due process.” (04/20/26)

https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/us-supreme-court-rejects-massachusetts-school-gender-identity-policy-challenge-2026-04-20/

Trump Sabotages His Own Much-Exaggerated Iran Deal

Source: The American Prospect
by Robert Kuttner

“On Thursday and Friday, there seemed to be progress toward a war-ending deal. President Trump went along with an Iranian demand that Israel must cease bombing Lebanon as a precondition to talks. … on Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted on X that the Strait of Hormuz was ‘completely open.’ Trump claimed that a deal was at hand, leading the stock market to jump and the price of oil to fall. In ordinary diplomacy, this is how a deal unfolds. Each side offers the other something constructive, a process that builds confidence and trust, until eventually a firm agreement can be signed. But Trump is not a ordinary diplomat. Only a few hours after Araghchi proclaimed the strait open, Trump closed it again, announcing that the U.S. would continue its own blockade of the strait ‘until such time as our transaction with Iran is 100% complete,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social.” (04/20/26)

https://prospect.org/2026/04/20/trump-sabotages-his-own-much-exaggerated-iran-deal/

UK: Two arrested in London synagogue arson case

Source: United Press International

“British police overnight arrested two teens in connection with an attempted arson of a London synagogue, authorities said Monday as they investigate a rash of recent attacks targeting the Jewish community as possible terrorism. A Metropolitan Police spokesperson told UPI in an emailed statement Monday that a 17-year-old boy and a 19-year-old man were arrested overnight …. There have been at least five separate arson attacks in London since four ambulances used by the Jewish community in Golders Green were set ablaze March 23. … The Met’s Counter Terrorism Policing unit is leading an investigation into all of these incidents, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans told reporters outside Kenton United in a Sunday press conference, stating that the ‘nature’ of all the crimes has been similar — ‘arson attacks targeting Israeli- and Jewish-linked premises in London.'” (04/20/26)

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2026/04/20/synagogue-arson-arrests/1701776669549/

Free Talk Live, 04/19/26

Source: Free Talk Live

“Genitals stolen in Africa :: Will Bitcoin die? :: Issues gold, silver and bitcoin could face :: Mark Challenges Rich E Rich on Bitcoin maximalism :: Shopping malls making a resurgence? :: What demographic stealing from malls? :: Learned helplessness and the scientist that helped the CIA to torture :: Caller said repeal the 19th amendment and right to vote for Italians :: How the cops stole Bonnie’s spit :: They’re putting toilets in cars :: 62 year old won the right to wear a penis costume in public :: You deserve your whole penis :: James Wittekind calls breaking Mark’s restraining order :: Invideo.io for making AI videos :: 2026-04-19 :: Hosts: Bonnie, Mark Edge, Colin, Rich E Rich.” (04/19/26)

https://soundcloud.com/freetalklive/ftl2026-04-19