Short Takes – 11-4-26 - Medical Issues

RFK Jr. Eases Access to Unproven Peptides Despite Opposition from FDA Scientists. MedPageToday.com article. Pull quote: “FDA officials warned that the agency's scientific staffers had major safety concerns and would not support a regulation deeming them safe. HHS officials moved to a different approach that directs the FDA not to enforce its rules against pharmacies that compound the substances.” 

New World screwworm case reported in Arizona dog. TheHill.com article. Pull quote: “The USDA has confirmed 71 cases of screwworm in three states — Texas, New Mexico and, most recently, Arizona. Out of those cases, 18 remain active as of Thursday. There is only one case that is associated with U.S. wildlife while the rest are in domestic animals.” 

As Measles Outbreak Hits Pennsylvania Amish Country, More Show Openness to Vaccines. MedPageToday.com article. Pull quote: “The outbreak has especially hit the "Plain communities" of Amish and conservative Mennonites -- so named for their modest dress and limited use of technology. Vaccination rates, and attitudes about vaccines, range widely. But overall, they are less likely to be vaccinated than the general population, due more to culture and habit than doctrine.” 

Washington State Resident Dies from Bird Flu Following Exposure to Infected Cattle. MedPageToday.com article. Pull quote: “The agency analyzed the genetic sequence of the virus from the person who died in Washington and found no changes that would make the virus spread more easily or cause more severe illness, a CDC spokesperson said Monday.” 

A proof-of-concept test can spot bladder cancer in urine. ScienceNews.com article. Pull quote: “The researchers are now exploring their technique’s potential for picking up other cancers. Their evidence suggests that it can spot cancer in the kidney and prostate, organs also washed by urine. One day, Diehn says, he can imagine a multi-cancer urine test focused on tumors in the genitourinary tract. But there’s much to do before such a test makes it into clinics.” 

Advisory Published – 11-3-26

Today CISA’s NCCIC-ICS published a control system security advisory for products from Subnet Solutions. 

Advisories  

Subnet Advisory - The advisory describes two vulnerabilities in the Subnet Solutions PowerSYSTEM Center. The vulnerabilities were reported to CISA by Chinmay Patel of Digital Boundary Group. 

Review - PHMSA Publishes LNG Facility NPRM – 11-3-26

Today, the DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register (90 FR 69314-69388) on “Pipeline Safety: Amendments to Liquefied Natural Gas Facilities”. The NPRM would update the pipeline safety regulations (PSR), including incorporation by references and congressional mandates. Changes are proposed for 49 CFR Part 191 and Part 193. 

The major provisions of the NPRM include: 

• Calibrating reporting requirements to public safety risks,  
• Incorporation by reference updated editions of leading industry standards,  
• Improved alignment between facility siting requirements and safety risks,  
• Introduction of targeted requirements for permanent, small-scale LNG facilities, and 
• Integration of an alternative, risk-based operations and maintenance framework. 

Public Comments  

PHMSA is soliciting comments on the proposed NPRM language. Comments may be submitted via the Federal eRulemaking Portal (www.Regulations.gov; Docket # PHMSA-2019-0091). Comments should be submitted by January 4th, 2027. 

For more information on the provisions of this NPRM, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/phmsa-publishes-lng-facility-nprm - subscription required. 

FERC Sends ‘Zero-Based Regulatory Budgeting’ Final Rule to OMB

Yesterday, the OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) announced that it had received a final rule from Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on ‘Implementation of the Executive Order Entitled "Zero-Based Regulatory Budgeting to Unleash American Energy"’ [EO 14270]. FERC published a direct-final rule in October of 2025 for this rulemaking and then partially rescinded that rule on December 18th, 2026. 

According to the 2026 Unified Agenda entry for this rulemaking: 

“The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is revising its regulations to insert a conditional sunset date into certain regulations in response to Executive Order 14270, Zero-Based Regulatory Budgeting to Unleash American Energy (Docket No. RM25-14-000).” 

With the DFR setting a sunset date for a variety of FERC regulations at December 5th, 2026, I suspect that the agency may be using this final rule to further extend one or more of those regulations past that date. EO 14270 allows for extensions of the mandated sunset dates of up to five years per extension. 

Short Takes – 11-3-26 - Space Geek Edition

America needs a Space Academy for the space age. SpaceNews.com commentary. Pull quote: “As described in a recent position paper, the National Space Society (NSS) believes America needs leaders who understand the whole system, not just one corner of it. Our universities produce excellent engineers, scientists, lawyers and policymakers. The military academies prepare officers. Government agencies and companies train their own specialists. But no institution is built to develop a professional corps that can work across civil, commercial and national security space.” 

China outlines uncrewed test campaign for buildup to crewed moon landing. SpaceNews.com article. Pull quote: “The proposed path, labeled “survey first, build later,” has three stages. The first crewed landing would establish round-trip capability and use Lanyue as the basis for a 9-metric-ton-class lunar landing platform. A second stage would expand surface stays and mobility, shifting from exploration at single points to linked exploration. A third would see resource development and long-term human presence, supporting deeper space exploration.” 

USAF successfully tests dropping SpaceX Starfall cargo drop pods from space. TomsHardware.com article. Pull quote: ““This was a critical achievement to demonstrate the potential of Rocket Cargo delivery for point-to-point rapid global mobility for the Future Force," AFRL Technology Transition Office director Adam Remaly said in a statement. "The cross-discipline collaborations and ability to unleash the speed of our defense industrial base are key to maximizing capability and winning the future.”” Seems like a long way to go still. 

This Halloween, amateur astronomers may be in for a dwarf planet treat. ScienceNews.com article. Pull quote: “The object, called 2026 ED138, appeared to be about 47 times as far from Earth as Earth is from the sun. Its brightness suggests it’s between 600 and 1,500 kilometers wide, potentially as large as other dwarf planets like Ceres and Makemake. That’s probably big enough to be spherical, making it a dwarf planet.” 

The 2028 Imperative: NASA’s 2028 crunch for Artemis, SR-1 and robotic lunar landings. SpaceNews.com article. Pull quote: “A related mission with a 2028 goal is MoonFall. This JPL-led mission will send three small spacecraft to the moon with the ability to hop from one location to another. The name is derived from the SkyFall Mars helicopters those spacecraft will imitate, said the project’s chief engineer, Ian Clark, at the LSIC meeting. (Not the “spectacularly crappy” sci-fi movie of the same name.)” 

Midterm election to test bipartisan support for NASA. SpaceNews.com article. Pull quote: “However, both authorization bills were reported out of committee before NASA’s Ignition event and thus do not include the specific programs announced then. There’s been little public sign of progress reconciling the two bills and updating them to account for the changes since early this year.” 

Space Medicine at Vast: A Systems-Level Approach to Astronaut Health and Performance. VastSpace.com post. Pull quote: “In addition to on-console support from our mission control center, each crew will include designated Chief Medical Officers with more advanced training in the spacecraft's medical capabilities, including diagnostic ultrasound, bloodwork, medication administration, and vital signs monitoring, equipping them to assess, diagnose, and respond to medical situations independently while in orbit.”