Public Policy

  • September 09, 2026

    DC Circ. Denies Bid To Force FCC Action On News Policy

    A D.C. Circuit panel declined Wednesday to compel the Federal Communications Commission to respond to a petition seeking a repeal of its news distortion policy, saying the petitioners failed to establish that they have no other adequate means to seek relief.

  • September 09, 2026

    Trump Admin Floats Barring Many Noncitizens From Census

    The Trump administration on Wednesday proposed changes to how people will be counted in the 2030 census to exclude noncitizens who don't have green cards from the headcount and remove questions on race, ethnicity and sexual orientation.

  • September 09, 2026

    Conn. Farmers Can't Point To Hemp Law Injury, Judge Says

    Connecticut hemp farmers and processors failed to overturn state laws that cracked down on the sale of intoxicating hemp products, after a federal judge ruled that they failed to show how they were concretely harmed by statutes that do not directly regulate cultivation.

  • September 09, 2026

    Texas Court Finds Most Of O'Rourke Fundraising Appeal Moot

    A Texas appellate court in a split decision found that onetime presidential hopeful Beto O'Rourke's challenge to a court order blocking fundraising for state Democrats is moot and separately ruled that a Tarrant County, Texas, court has jurisdiction over the case.

  • September 09, 2026

    Pa. Ch. 7 Judge Pans NJ AG In Remanding 'Ghost Gun' Suit

    A Pennsylvania federal bankruptcy judge says an alleged seller of "ghost gun" kits improperly tried to remove a civil suit filed by the New Jersey Attorney General's office to his court, but chided the AG for assuming that her lawsuit was immune from the automatic bankruptcy stay.

  • September 09, 2026

    Mo. Voters Ask High Court To Sort Out 'Irreconcilable' Rulings

    Voters opposed to Missouri's newly drawn congressional map that favors Republicans in the midterms asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday to lift a federal judge's order requiring state election officials to use the challenged map, which the Missouri Supreme Court deemed invalid without voter approval.

  • September 09, 2026

    States Say DOT's Driver Data Demand Is Immigration Pretext

    The Democratic-led states asking a Virginia federal judge to stop the Trump administration from accessing the Social Security numbers of commercial drivers nationwide for immigration enforcement backed up their request for an injunction Wednesday, saying the federal government is using post hoc rationalizations to defend its data demands.

  • September 09, 2026

    NC Justices Probe TikTok's State Contacts In Addiction Case

    The North Carolina Supreme Court grappled Wednesday with whether TikTok and its parent company should have to face the attorney general's suit alleging the app is addictive to young users, with TikTok arguing its general national business practices do not create ties to the Tar Heel State sufficient to be dragged into court there.

  • September 09, 2026

    Agencies Warn Of Chinese AI Cos. Targeting US Models

    The Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency, National Security Administration and FBI have released a report claiming Chinese artificial intelligence companies were extracting proprietary capabilities from U.S. AI models through a process known as "distillation."

  • September 09, 2026

    Two Men Cop To Bribing Ex-NYC Buildings Commissioner

    Two men on Wednesday pled guilty to bribing former New York City Buildings Commissioner Eric Ulrich just weeks before the longtime city official is slated to stand trial in New York state court.

  • September 09, 2026

    Enviro Groups Challenge BLM's Colo., Wyo. Oil Lease Sales

    Two environmental advocacy nonprofits accused the Bureau of Land Management and related agencies of flouting federal law by authorizing the leasing of "environmentally sensitive public lands" in Colorado and Wyoming for oil and gas development, according to a lawsuit filed in Colorado federal court.

  • September 09, 2026

    States, Amici Ask Justices To Keep Mail Ballot Rules On Ice

    Nearly half of the states and the District of Columbia urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday to leave in place a federal judge's order blocking the U.S. Postal Service from enforcing new mail-in ballot regulations in this year's midterms, arguing the changes are a major political decision USPS had no authority to make. 

  • September 09, 2026

    Software Group Says FCC Should Narrow Covered List Focus

    The software industry thinks the Federal Communications Commission might want to take a more "narrow" view when it comes to its continued expansion of the covered list of telecommunications equipment that the agency deems to be a national security risk.

  • September 09, 2026

    Trump Trust Gets Doc Review In Fla. Debanking Suit

    A Florida federal judge ruled Wednesday that the court can review banking records before they are released to the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust in a lawsuit alleging its Capital One accounts were closed for political reasons, saying there is no regulation preventing the examination of Bank Secrecy Act-related documents.

  • September 09, 2026

    2 House Democrats Say Trump Can't Fire Copyright Chief

    Two senior House Democrats have urged the D.C. Circuit to reject the Trump administration's claimed authority to remove Shira Perlmutter as the head of the U.S. Copyright Office, arguing that only the librarian of Congress can fire the agency's leader.

  • September 09, 2026

    Justices Call For Early Response Over Paramount Merger

    The U.S. Supreme Court is giving California and other state enforcers that are challenging Paramount Skydance Corp.'s planned $110 billion purchase of Warner Bros. until later this month to respond to Iowa and Montana's bid to block the merger challenge.

  • September 09, 2026

    Ford Says DOT Concern Over China Tech 'Wrongheaded'

    Ford Motor Co. pushed back on U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy's "profound concern" over what he said was too close of a relationship between it and a Chinese battery manufacturer, saying the claims are unfounded and don't mesh with other administration stances.

  • September 09, 2026

    'Weird Space Stuff' To Get Boost Under FCC Spectrum Plan

    The Federal Communications Commission plans to vote Sept. 30 on a "spectrum abundance" plan meant to fuel a variety of space-based industries by opening up the airwaves across two spectrum bands.

  • September 09, 2026

    Mich. To Revisit Line 5 Tunnel Permits After High Court Ruling

    Michigan environmental regulators will reconsider permits issued in July for Enbridge Energy LP's proposed Line 5 tunnel beneath the Straits of Mackinac after the Michigan Supreme Court found earlier this year that a separate state approval of the project relied on an improperly narrow environmental review, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Wednesday. 

  • September 09, 2026

    NJ Tech Chief Seeks To Avoid TikTok Depo In AG's Fraud Suit

    New Jersey Chief Technology Officer Kevin Dehmer has asked a state court judge to block TikTok from deposing him in the attorney general's consumer fraud lawsuit, arguing that he has no firsthand knowledge of the allegations and that forcing a high-ranking state official to testify is unwarranted.

  • September 09, 2026

    Unions, Feds Reach Deal In Gov't Shutdown Layoffs Suit

    A coalition of unions has reached a settlement in principle with the Trump administration resolving litigation in California federal court challenging layoffs at federal agencies during the 2025 government shutdown, pending approval from the U.S. Department of Justice.

  • September 09, 2026

    State Dept. Starts Reprocessing 43K Paused Visa Applications

    The State Department said it has taken steps to start reprocessing visa applications related to the agency's now vacated 75-country visa pause, saying 43,000 applications are subject to a New York federal court's recent order.

  • September 09, 2026

    FTC Chucks Biden-Era Health App Breach Notification Policy

    The Federal Trade Commission, as part of its regulatory streamlining, has rescinded a Biden-era policy requiring health applications and smart devices that collect information to warn users when their medical data has been breached.

  • September 09, 2026

    HMRC To Make Non-UK VAT Group Members Claim Refunds

    Businesses outside the U.K. that are members of a value-added tax group will need to submit their own VAT refund claims under a new scheme aimed at addressing "an unintended consequence" of exiting the European Union, HM Revenue & Customs said in a policy paper.

  • September 09, 2026

    Mackinac Island Says Ferry Operators Created Discovery Fight

    A northern Michigan island resort community has urged a federal court to reject ferry operators' bid to compel testimony from a city representative, arguing that the companies created the discovery dispute by refusing to narrow sweeping deposition topics covering as much as 16 years.

Expert Analysis

  • High Court Rulings Could Alter Agency Strategy For Cos.

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decisions in Trump v. Slaughter and Trump v. Cook mark major turning points in the law of independent agencies and in how regulated companies should think about federal enforcement, rulemaking and agency-facing strategy, say attorneys at Holtzman Vogel.

  • How CME Suit May Reshape CFTC's Crypto Derivatives Rules

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    CME Group's recent lawsuit over the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's approval of a Kalshi application to offer a bitcoin perpetual contract as a futures product could have cascading consequences for crypto derivatives regulation, highlighting why policy ambitions do not override statutory text or substitute for reasoned decision-making, says attorney Tamara de Silva.

  • Opinion

    Justices' Parole Ruling Degrades Green Card Holders' Rights

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Blanche v. Lau, holding that U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers can parole a returning lawful permanent resident without clear and convincing evidence of a crime, weakens the statutory and practical protections Congress intended, say attorneys at Cyrus D. Mehta & Partners.

  • NEPA Reforms Can Fix Permitting Without Weakening Review

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    Recent National Environmental Policy Act reforms, in tandem with a Senate bill proposing faster permitting reviews and greater agency coordination, mark a long overdue move toward more efficient energy and infrastructure permitting that does not sacrifice environmental assessment, say attorneys at GableGotwals.

  • 2 Microsoft Matters Could Help Shape AI Antitrust Outlook

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    A pending federal court case and investigation focusing on Microsoft's allegedly anticompetitive conduct in the deployment of artificial intelligence tools are testing whether antitrust law can distinguish ordinary competition to supply the AI ecosystem from conduct that distorts how that competition unfolds, says Kylie Kim at Massey & Gail.

  • Preparing For Next Congress With Eye On Investigation Risk

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    Rod Rosenstein, Brian Whisler and Bruce Linskens at Baker McKenzie offer advice for organizations seeking to build a proactive response plan to potential congressional oversight as the election looms.

  • Asylum Ruling Signals Larger Separation Of Powers Battle

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Mullin v. Al Otro Lado that border officials may turn away asylum-seekers without inspection is part of a broader conversation about the reach of institutional safeguards that subject governmental authority to legal constraint, says Dree Collopy at American University's Washington College of Law.

  • Solar's Momentum At Mid-2026 Will Help It Overcome Snags

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    The rapid expansion of U.S. solar development in the first half of 2026 is likely to continue its pace, even amid ongoing shifts in federal trade policy and supply chain regulations, obstacles to permitting reform, and an increasing divide between states enacting policies to encourage or stymie project development, say attorneys at Beveridge & Diamond.

  • The Debanking Minefield: Navigating Fair Access In 2026

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    Federal regulators' recent elimination of reputational risk from bank supervision, alongside a growing patchwork of state fair access laws, is reshaping how banks make account and service decisions and ushering in a new compliance era requiring individualized, objective and risk-based access determinations, say attorneys at Spencer Fane.

  • Carbon Health Settlement Highlights Why Evidence Is Key

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    The California Attorney General's Office's first-of-its-kind settlement with Carbon Health, imposing penalties for alleged corporate practice of medicine violations, shows that friendly professional corporation challenges usually hinge not on the parties' management services agreement, but on whether the operational record matches it, says Ben Dubin at VC Expert Services.

  • What PE Practitioners Need To Know About New Del. ABC Act

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    Delaware's new Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors statute represents a structural shift in how companies backed by private equity can be wound down and provides a more streamlined tool for managing sponsor liability without the public visibility of a bankruptcy proceeding, says Evelyn Meltzer at Troutman Pepper.

  • How To Brace For A Potential Democratic Oversight Push

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    With the possibility of a shift in congressional control after the November midterm elections, companies and their general counsel should prepare now by mapping oversight exposure, reviewing government interactions, preserving records and developing coordinated communications strategies, say attorneys at Hogan Lovells.

  • Opinion

    Labor Contract Bill Would Introduce Sweeping Risks For Cos.

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    The House-approved Faster Labor Contracts Act would force rapid first-contract bargaining, subject businesses to binding arbitration over key workplace terms, and create major uncertainty for nonunion companies, making it crucial for employers to assess their exposure and mitigate the risks now, say attorneys at FBT Gibbons.

  • Fed Autonomy Rests On Narrow Exception After Justices Rule

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decisions in Trump v. Cook and Trump v. Slaughter expand presidential removal power while temporarily preserving the Federal Reserve’s independence, but there is uncertainty about which of the Fed’s authorities fall within the court’s narrow monetary-policy exception, says Keith Bradley at Squire Patton.

  • Assessing New Risks After The End Of The SEC's Gag Rule

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent rescission of its long-standing no‑deny gag rule marks a transition from a regime of enforced silence to one of strategic communication, meaning the question is no longer simply whether to settle, but how to manage the narrative that follows, say attorneys at Nelson Mullins.

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