The racing community is grieving again. Rick Treadway, a former INDYCAR SERIES driver who started the 2002 Indianapolis 500, died May 30 in a motorcycle accident. He was 56 years old. The loss hits hard for fans who already spent the past week mourning. It comes just days after the sudden death of Kyle Busch, another driver gone far too soon. Treadway’s family ran deep in the sport. His father, Fred Treadway, owned an INDYCAR team, and Rick carried that name onto one of the biggest stages in American motorsports when he made the field for the 2002 Indianapolis 500. Two-time Indy 500 winner Arie Luyendyk remembered Treadway personally: Sad news hearing Rick Treadway passed away last Saturday. Our condolences go out to my former @IndyCar team owner Fred Treadway, Janice and Brian Treadway.Rick was a fun, crazy, humble, wild and brave personality ❗️RIP Ricky ❤️ We are thinking of you Treadway family pic.twitter.com/C9FJKm5xEV — Arie Luyendyk (@ArieLuyendyk) June 1, 2026 The official word from the series carried the same somber tone. INDYCAR confirmed Treadway’s passing in a tribute on its website. Treadway came up through the open-wheel ranks before earning his place in the 33-car field at the Brickyard. For a driver, starting the Indianapolis 500 is the kind of accomplishment that follows you for life. It is the one race everyone in the sport measures themselves against. The timing is what makes this stretch so painful for fans. The racing world is still processing one loss when another lands. Longtime NASCAR reporter Bob Pockrass also confirmed the news: Sad news: Rick Treadway, who started the 2002 Indianapolis 500, died May 30 in a motorcycle accident. He was 56. — Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) June 1, 2026 Treadway leaves behind a family that gave a lot to the sport, including his father Fred, and the larger INDYCAR community that came up alongside them. Drivers know the risks they take on the track. Losing one of their own off it, on a motorcycle on a Saturday, is a reminder of how little any of it is promised. Rest in peace, Rick Treadway. INDYCAR confirmed Treadway’s death and summarized his racing career: Rick Treadway, who started the 2002 Indianapolis 500, died May 30 in a motorcycle accident. He was 56. Indiana native Treadway (photo, top, right), the son of 1997 Indianapolis 500-winning team owner Fred Treadway (photo, top, left), started 17th and placed 29th in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” in the No. 5 Sprint/Kyocera Wireless/Airlink Enterprises G Force/Chevrolet fielded by his father’s team and as a teammate to two-time Indy 500 winner Arie Luyendyk. Treadway and Tony Kanaan were eliminated from the race in an accident in Turn 3 on Lap 90. The Indy 500 start was the highlight of Treadway’s INDYCAR SERIES career, which consisted of 11 races in the 2001 and 2002 seasons for his father’s teams Treadway-Hubbard Racing and Treadway Racing. He made his INDYCAR SERIES debut in 2001 at Kentucky Speedway and his final start in 2002 at the season finale at Texas Motor Speedway. His best finish was fifth at the 2001 season finale at Texas. Before joining the INDYCAR SERIES, Treadway competed in Formula 2000 junior formula racing and in various short-track open-wheel series, including the USAC Silver Crown and National Midget Series. He also raced in SCCA competition. Treadway, a graduate of Indiana State University, worked in business development and as a commercial pilot for his charter air service. He also served as an Federal Aviation Administration-certified flight instructor. The Associated Press reported the Kyle Busch death that had already shaken the racing world days earlier: Kyle Busch, a two-time Cup Series champion who won more races than anyone across NASCAR’s three national series, has died at 41. The Busch Family, Richard Childress Racing and NASCAR issued a joint statement Thursday saying Busch died after being hospitalized. No cause of death was given. Busch’s family said earlier Thursday that he was hospitalized with a “severe illness,” three days before he was to compete in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Busch was testing in the Chevrolet racing simulator in Concord on Wednesday when he became unresponsive and was transported to a hospital in Charlotte, several people familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because details have not been disclosed by Busch’s team or family. Busch was the younger brother of Kurt Busch, a NASCAR Hall of Famer. He’s survived by wife Samantha and children Brexton and Lennix. From Las Vegas, Busch experienced unrivaled success across NASCAR’s three national series winning a combined 234 Cup, O’Reilly Auto Parts and Trucks Series races. He had 63 Cup victories along with 102 O’Reilly Auto Parts wins and 69 Trucks victories — both records. For motorsports fans, it is another hard week and another reminder of how many lives are tied together by the racing family. This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport. View the original article here.

Moderna has secured a $50 million investment from global health organization Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) to support the development and initial clinical testing of an experimental vaccine against the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, which is blamed for the ongoing outbreak in Africa. CEPI was among the early investors to develop a COVID-19 jab, Reuters noted. Moderna Snags $50 Million Ebola Vax Contract https://t.co/1xsCKM9V8X — zerohedge (@zerohedge) June 1, 2026 Reuters has more: Richard Hatchett, head of CEPI, told Reuters on Monday it was possible to get Ebola Bundibugyo (BDBV) vaccines ready for trials within a couple of months. There are currently no approved BDBV ​vaccines or treatments. Hatchett said the promise of vaccines on “a not infinitely distant horizon” should help to start conversations about who would buy ​them and fund any roll-out. But he cautioned, however, that vaccine development can be unpredictable and the challenging security situation ⁠in eastern Congo would make trials complex. There have been 282 confirmed cases in Congo, including 42 deaths, and around 1,100 suspected cases, according ​to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization. In total, CEPI is giving approximately $60 million to three groups (Moderna, IAVI, and University of Oxford / Serum Institute of India). “CEPI has committed up to US$50 million for preclinical testing and Phase 1 clinical trials. CEPI will support simultaneous manufacturing of doses to enable large-scale Phase 2/3 trials to begin immediately if Phase 1 data supports progression,” CEPI stated regarding Moderna. “This candidate uses the same fast, flexible, scalable mRNA technology validated during COVID-19 and builds upon Moderna’s existing R&D on related Ebola viruses. The collaboration leverages CEPI’s existing strategic partnership with Moderna,” it continued. “At Moderna, we believe our mRNA platform can play an important role in responding rapidly to emerging infectious disease threats. We are proud to expand our strategic partnership with CEPI to advance a potential vaccine against Bundibugyo ebolavirus, leveraging our established technology and experience in related filoviruses. We will move with urgency and scientific rigor to support the response and help bring a potential vaccine closer to the communities that need it most,” said Stéphane Bancel, Chief Executive Officer of Moderna. Moderna Is Building a Modified mRNA "Vaccine" for Ebola Bundibugyo https://t.co/u9Dl4vupln via @brownstoneinst — Jeffrey A Tucker (@jeffreytucker) June 1, 2026 The Hill noted: In addition to Moderna, CEPI said it will invest nearly $12 million between two other vaccine candidates. CEP said it will provide up to $3.2 million for preparations necessary to generate the starting material for a vaccine from the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI). The IAVI candidate uses the same technology as Merck’s vaccine Ervebo, which is already approved and WHO-prequalified against the Zaire strain of Ebola that caused the massive 2013 epidemic in West Africa. CEPI is also investing up to $8.6 million to fund preclinical testing and other development activities to rapidly prepare for Phase 1 trials of an Ebola vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and manufactured by the Serum Institute of India.

The Justice Department announced on Monday that it will not proceed with the $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization fund.” “The Department of Justice disagrees strongly with the decision on the Anti-Weaponization Fund put forth by the United States District Court Judge in the Eastern District of Virginia, wherein the Court stated that, under no circumstances, may the Department of Justice proceed with the Anti-Weaponization Fund recently established in order to make up for the tremendous abuse, harm, and hate unfairly shown to so many people,” the Justice Department announced. “This Fund was open to anybody who was so weaponized, targeted, or persecuted, whether they were Democrat, Republican, Conservative, Independent, or otherwise. The Department will abide by the Court’s ruling,” it continued. The Department of Justice disagrees strongly with the decision on the Anti-Weaponization Fund put forth by the United States District Court Judge in the Eastern District of Virginia, wherein the Court stated that, under no circumstances, may the Department of Justice proceed with… — U.S. Department of Justice (@TheJusticeDept) June 1, 2026 More from the New York Post: Trump was getting blowback from his party on the issue. Senate Republicans fretted that the money could be used to pay rioters from January 6th and Trump’s political allies even though people like Hunter Biden were also eligible to apply. As part of the fallout, Senate Republican leaders delayed action on a $72 billion partisan bill to fund Trump’s immigration crackdown after dozens of Republican lawmakers objected to the establishment of the fund. Trump agreed to the fund as part of his settlement of a $10 billion lawsuit with the IRS. In exchange for dropping the lawsuit, the Justice Department was to establish the fund with the IRS and anyone who believed they were a victim of the weaponization of the federal government would be eligible to apply for financial compensation. A district judge was looking into the fund after a group of former federal judges questioned its legitimacy. It was on a two-week pause while the legal issues were considered. It’s unclear how this this decision will affect Trump’s settlement with the IRS. “I do think the best way to handle it is if the administration decides to shut it down themselves,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said, according to CNBC. Watch below: NOW: Senate Leader John Thune just said President Trump should DROP the $1.8B anti-weaponization fund if Trump wants the Border reconciliation bill to pass THUNE: "[White House should] shut it down themselves." This after Republicans WENT HOME on RECESS without voting on… pic.twitter.com/mEqb6yjUGD — Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) June 1, 2026 CNBC shared further: Axios, in its report Monday, quoted a senior administration official as saying that the fund is “dead for now.” Punchbowl separately reported that “the administration is expected to announce that they are going to comply with the court order and not go forward on the weaponization fund.” MS NOW soon after confirmed Axios’ report. On Friday, a federal judge blocked the DOJ from taking any action to create or disburse money from the fund for now as a lawsuit challenging it plays out in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Virginia. Judge Leonie Brinkema also scheduled a June 12 court hearing on whether to maintain the injunction against the fund. Brinkema is overseeing one of three federal lawsuits that seek to block the fund.

A federal appeals court ruled on Monday that the Trump administration’s policy of banning transgender individuals from serving in the military is likely unconstitutional. In a 2-1 ruling, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court’s decision that prevented the Department of War from removing transgender troops who are in the military. “The Hegseth policy is both arbitrary and based upon animus, and for those reasons the Policy violates Plaintiff-Appellees’ constitutional right to equal protection of the law,” said Judge Robert Wilkins, who wrote the majority opinion. BREAKING: In a 2-1 ruling, a federal appeals court finds the Trump administration policy to ban transgender individuals from serving in the US military is unconstitutional. From Judge Roger Wilkins who wrote the majority opinion: "The Hegseth policy is both arbitrary and based… — Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) June 1, 2026 CBS News shared further: Wilkins and Judge Justin Walker, meanwhile, allowed the administration to enforce restrictions on transgender plaintiffs who sought to join the military but were prevented under the new policy from doing so. Walker, who authored a dissenting opinion, was nominated to the federal bench by Mr. Trump in 2020. Wilkins was appointed to the D.C. Circuit by President Barack Obama, and Rogers was tapped for the appeals court by President Bill Clinton. Mr. Trump signed an executive order in the opening days of his second term that targeted active-duty and prospective service members with gender dysphoria. The president’s directive said that the military’s “high standards for troop readiness, lethality, cohesion, honesty, humility, uniformity and integrity” are inconsistent with the “medical, surgical and mental health constraints on individuals with gender dysphoria.” Soon after the president signed his executive order, Hegseth directed the Pentagon to pause new accessions for people with a history of gender dysphoria and halt medical procedures for transgender troops. The Defense Department issued a policy in February 2025 disqualifying people with gender dysphoria from military service unless they obtained a waiver. Hegseth’s policy drew several legal challenges, including in Washington, D.C., and Tacoma, Washington. In May 2025, in response to proceedings in the case from Tacoma, the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to continue enforcing its policy on transgender military service while litigation moved forward. In a 2-1 vote, the D.C. Circuit blocks the Trump administration from removing transgender troops already serving in the military, but allows restrictions on new transgender recruits while the lawsuit continues. pic.twitter.com/bPKnIS7zcR — SCOTUS Wire (@scotus_wire) June 1, 2026 “The government’s stated reason for issuing the Hegseth Policy as based solely upon gender dysphoria was pretextual, and that instead, the Hegseth Policy was premised, at least in part, on a non-legitimate state interest to harm the politically unpopular group of transgender persons,” Wilkins wrote in the opinion, according to CBS News. More from the Associated Press: The appeals court panel’s 2-1 decision largely upholds a March 2025 ruling by U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes in Washington, D.C. Reyes concluded that Trump’s executive order to exclude transgender troops from military service likely violates their constitutional rights. The administration appealed after Reyes issued a preliminary injunction requested by attorneys for several transgender people who are active-duty service members and others seeking to join the military. The appeal court’s majority decided that the injunction should be narrowed to the plaintiffs currently serving in the military but not those trying to enlist.

During an appearance on ‘Fox & Friends Weekend,’ Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel discussed the surge in estimated cases of Lyme disease in the United States and how Pfizer is developing a new vaccine for the illness. Siegel said Pfizer’s Lyme disease vaccine should be available “in a few months.” “I have a feeling with this spotlight they may fast-track it. It’s a completely safe vaccine based on older technology. It’s not something that we don’t know about,” Siegel explained. Siegel said the vaccine is “very promising” and it’s “going to be useful.” “Last time we had a Lyme vaccine, nobody took it. This vaccine is safe [and] effective. I think we’re going to get a lot of use out of it,” he added. Watch below: Fox News confirms Pfizer already has a vaccine ready to prevent infections from tick bites, which is considered "safe and effective." The vaccine is expected to be released in the next few months, and they believe they will get "a lot of use out of it." Pfizer frequently… pic.twitter.com/cUkfBUnjnp — Shadow of Ezra (@ShadowofEzra) May 31, 2026 CNBC reported in March: Pfizer on Monday said it will seek regulatory approval for a Lyme disease vaccine candidate despite the shot failing a late-stage trial. Pfizer said the vaccine missed the trial’s statistical goal because not enough people in the study contracted Lyme disease to be confident in the results. Still, the company said the shot reduced the rate of infection by more than 70% in people who received the vaccine versus placebo, efficacy the company thinks is strong enough to take to regulators. “The efficacy shown in the VALOR study of more than 70% is highly encouraging and creates confidence in the vaccine’s potential to protect against this disease that can be debilitating,” Pfizer Chief Vaccines Officer Annaliesa Anderson said in a statement. A vaccine for Lyme disease isn’t expected to become a best-seller for Pfizer, with the company’s partner Valneva estimating peak annual sales of $1 billion. Pfizer expects overall revenue of around $60 billion this year, with its Covid-19 vaccine representing more than $5 billion of that forecast. But Pfizer had billed the Lyme vaccine results as one of its major catalysts this year, and it represented a chance to introduce the only human vaccine for Lyme disease. “I don’t want any more safe and effective vaccines. I want them to stop engineering ticks and viruses as bio weapons,” former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene commented. I don’t want any more safe and effective vaccines. I want them to stop engineering ticks and viruses as bio weapons. https://t.co/g6d5D53JvF — Marjorie Taylor Greene (@mtgreenee) June 1, 2026 Last month, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced a major federal push to fight Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses. “One of the real tragedies now is that American’s can’t go into the woods anymore safely— and going to the woods to hike, to fish, to hunt, to photograph, or just a walk in the woods is part of the seminal experience of being an American, and particularly an American child— and it’s a science fiction nightmare that we now live in,” RFK Jr. said. Watch below: Thank you Bill Gates… RFK JR says it’s no longer safe for Americans to go into the Woods Anymore due to Lyme Disease “One of the real tragedies now is that American’s can’t go into the woods anymore safely— and going to the woods to hike, to fish, to hunt, to photograph, or… https://t.co/oX5EBnsWyT pic.twitter.com/fGLIaPNFc8 — MJTruthUltra (@MJTruthUltra) May 29, 2026 “We didn’t really have a tick problem in this country until the 1980s,” RFK Jr. commented. “We’re going after the disease at its source by reducing tick populations and disrupting their breeding cycles. We aim to slow the spread of Lyme disease,” he continued. Check it out: RFK JR: We NEVER really had a Tick Problem in this country until 80’s— So we’re developing protocols now to make Deer less attractive to Ticks for breeding— So that we can “SLOW THE SPREAD” of Lyme Disease I really do hate those words. Ugh.. and RFK JR looks extremely defeated… https://t.co/cMQ1BYtxRl pic.twitter.com/YBWqEx5hCw — MJTruthUltra (@MJTruthUltra) May 29, 2026 “May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month, a time to recognize the growing impact of Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses on American families and communities. Lyme disease now affects an estimated 476,000 Americans each year and remains one of the most common vector-borne diseases in the United States,” RFK Jr. said last month. “I recently wrote to the House Energy & Commerce Committee urging support for reauthorization of the Kay Hagan Tick Act to strengthen research, surveillance, early detection, treatment, and public awareness efforts related to tick-borne disease,” he added. May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month, a time to recognize the growing impact of Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses on American families and communities. Lyme disease now affects an estimated 476,000 Americans each year and remains one of the most common vector-borne… pic.twitter.com/KUmW1L3NEt — Secretary Kennedy (@SecKennedy) May 21, 2026 The Hill noted: The last Lyme vaccine, LYMErix, debuted in 1998 but was pulled after four years due to low sales driven by concerns about potentially adverse effects. It was said to reduce new infections in vaccinated adults by nearly 80 percent, according to an editorial review published by the Cambridge University Press. The disease is spread to hundreds of thousands of people in the U.S. each year by blacklegged ticks. Infected ticks must be attached for more than 24 hours to transmit infection; prompt tick removal can prevent transmission, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. It’s typically contracted during outdoors activities and ultimately treated with a 10- to 14-day course of oral antibiotics, according to the University of Pennsylvania. Watch more below: