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Public Policy
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June 04, 2025
Texas Unauthorized Student Tuition Law Axed Hours After Suit
A Texas federal judge on Wednesday scrapped a decades-old Texas law that allowed college students without legal residency to pay in-state tuition, hours after the Trump administration filed suit to challenge the law as unconstitutional and after the state agreed the law conflicted with federal immigration law.
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June 04, 2025
Dems Say Robocalls Can't Be Stopped With Less Money, Staff
Combating the scourge of robocalls is normally a more bipartisan issue, but at a House subcommittee hearing Wednesday, Democrats used the opportunity to take aim at the Trump administration for cutting funding and jobs from agencies tasked with fixing the problem.
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June 04, 2025
Ex-CFTC Chair Warns Crypto Bill's Loopholes Still Too Wide
Former leaders of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Wednesday told U.S. House lawmakers mulling a bill to regulate cryptocurrency markets that the legislation needs to close potential regulatory loopholes and that Congress must expand the agency's resources if they expect it to police the bulk of the digital asset space.
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June 04, 2025
1st Circ. Upholds Block On Trump's Education Dept. Job Cuts
The First Circuit on Wednesday rejected a bid by President Donald Trump to greenlight massive job cuts at the U.S. Department of Education, finding that the administration had not provided enough evidence to overturn a block put in place by a Massachusetts federal judge.
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June 04, 2025
Yogis' Legal Warrior Pose Gets Beach Ban Lifted At 9th Circ.
The Ninth Circuit on Wednesday ordered a lower court to grant a preliminary injunction to yoga instructors who challenged San Diego's prohibition on free yoga classes at shoreline parks, finding the activity to be speech protected by the First Amendment since it imparts a skill derived from special knowledge.
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June 04, 2025
GAO Tells Congress DOD Must Take Fraud Risk Seriously
The Government Accountability Office's director of forensic audits and investigative services testified Wednesday that words and actions by U.S. Department of Defense leadership have called into question the DOD's commitment to combating fraud.
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June 04, 2025
DC Judge Won't Halt Education Data Collection Rollback
A D.C. federal judge refused to halt the Department of Education's cancellation of $900 million in data maintenance and collection contracts, saying it's not the court's place to "breathe life back into" large swaths of canceled programs and monitor day-to-day statutory compliance.
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June 04, 2025
Feds Say 'No Viable Path' Forward For Calif. High-Speed Rail
The U.S. Department of Transportation said Wednesday that the California high-speed rail's overblown budget and ongoing mismanagement indicate that there's "no viable path" to completing the project on schedule, so the federal government is preparing to pull nearly $4 billion in funding.
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June 04, 2025
What To Know About Trump's Shake-Up At Copyright Office
The firing of Shira Perlmutter by President Donald Trump as the head of the U.S. Copyright Office has introduced uncertainty into the agency's operations, including whether a previously unannounced report on artificial intelligence will ever be released, and set up a fight regarding the president's power to remove and replace whoever he wants without congressional input.
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June 04, 2025
Scalia Invoked Against Trump's Citizenship Stance At 9th Circ.
A panel of Ninth Circuit judges scrutinized the Trump administration's take on the citizenship clause as the government argued Wednesday to preserve the president's push to curb birthright citizenship, with one judge suggesting the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia would've rejected the attempt to read "beyond the mere words" of the 14th Amendment.
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June 04, 2025
Bowman Confirmed As Trump's Top Banking Regulator At Fed
Senators on Wednesday confirmed Federal Reserve Gov. Michelle Bowman to become the central bank's next vice chair for supervision, elevating the former Kansas community banker to a powerful perch overseeing many of the biggest Wall Street financial institutions.
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June 04, 2025
NC Governor Launches Council To Advise On Cannabis Policy
North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein on Wednesday announced the creation of a state advisory council on cannabis to develop a comprehensive policy with respect to the regulation of hemp and marijuana.
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June 04, 2025
Judge Ponders If Netflix's Tax Theory Is 'Too Philosophical'
A Colorado appellate judge on Wednesday wondered if Netflix's argument for why its subscriptions are not subject to state sales tax is "too philosophical" and doesn't reflect its actual transactions with customers, at a hearing in the state's appeal.
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June 04, 2025
3 Ways DOL Benefits Chief Nominee May Affect ERISA Cases
A key committee will decide Thursday whether to send President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the U.S. Department of Labor’s employee benefits arm ahead for a full Senate vote, setting the stage for what attorneys expect will be an employer-friendly shift in policies. Here are three ways Daniel Aronowitz could change benefits litigation if confirmed.
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June 04, 2025
Judge Halts Fla. Law Over Medicaid Ballot Initiative Concerns
A Florida federal judge on Wednesday blocked state officials from enforcing part of a new law that opponents say threatens to criminalize those collecting signatures for a 2026 ballot initiative to expand Medicaid access.
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June 04, 2025
FTC Fights Attys Who Want State Bar Input On Ethics Worries
The Federal Trade Commission doesn't want staff attorneys to be able to seek state bar association guidance if they dispute the legality of an instruction, arguing in a fight with the FTC's union that seeking such guidance would gum up the gears of commission work.
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June 04, 2025
SEC Seeks Input On Tightening Perks For Foreign Issuers
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission agreed Wednesday to seek public input on whether foreign companies should continue to be granted accommodations to list in the U.S., noting that global markets have changed significantly since such rules were adopted.
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June 04, 2025
FCC Says C-Band Payment Clearinghouse Can Wind Down
The C-Band Relocation Payment Clearinghouse has received the go-ahead from the Federal Communications Commission to wind down its operations by the end of the month, after the agency agreed it had done what it was intended to do.
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June 04, 2025
Justices Won't Intervene To Let Jan. 6 Cops Stay Incognito
The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to grant an emergency stay that would have allowed current and former Seattle police officers who attended the Jan. 6, 2021, "Stop the Steal" insurrection to shield their identities from the public.
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June 04, 2025
ContractPodAi Launches Tariff-Focused AI Software
Contract management software provider ContractPodAi, which offers an automated legal assistant called Leah, announced the release of a tariff-focused chatbot that tracks global tariffs and trade regulations.
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June 04, 2025
Steel, Aluminum Tariff Hike Casts Cloud Over US Investment
President Donald Trump's latest tariff increases on steel and aluminum imports strengthen an existing barrier to an already duty-riddled trade environment and could put both domestic and foreign businesses' investment opportunities in the U.S. at risk, experts say.
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June 04, 2025
Trump Ordered To Explain Why Layoffs Don't Flout Injunction
A California federal judge ordered the Trump administration Wednesday to explain why preparations for layoffs at the State Department and Department of Housing and Urban Development do not violate an injunction she issued last month, saying she needed more details about the agencies' plans to evaluate their compliance.
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June 04, 2025
Venezuelans Say End To Removal Protections Was 'Contrived'
The National TPS Alliance and several Venezuelans have asked a California federal judge to set aside U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's vacatur of temporary protected status for Venezuela and Haiti, saying the underlying rationale is concocted.
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June 04, 2025
House Committee Puts Intoxicating-Hemp Ban In Spending Bill
A U.S. House of Representatives committee on Wednesday released a spending bill that includes a major change to the statutory definition of hemp and hemp products in its agriculture appropriations that would effectively rewrite national hemp policy if it becomes law.
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June 04, 2025
ÃÛÌÒÊÓÆµ Resumes $4.2M Redress After Pressure From States
California's Department of Financial Protection and Innovation said Wednesday that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is now making good on a $4.2 million redress plan for former students of a shuttered sales-training firm, following agency delays and subsequent pressure from various states.
Expert Analysis
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4 States' Enforcement Actions Illustrate Data Privacy Priorities
Attorneys at Wilson Elser examine recent enforcement actions based on new consumer data privacy laws by regulators in California, Connecticut, Oregon and Texas, centered around key themes, including crackdowns on dark patterns, misuse of sensitive data and failure to honor consumer rights.
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Google Ad Tech Ruling Creates Antitrust Uncertainty
A Virginia federal court’s recent decision in the Justice Department’s ad tech antitrust case against Google includes two unusual aspects in that it narrowly construed U.S. Supreme Court precedent when rejecting Google's two-sided market argument, and it found the company liable for unlawful tying, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.
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Series
Brazilian Jiujitsu Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Competing in Brazilian jiujitsu – often against opponents who are much larger and younger than me – has allowed me to develop a handful of useful skills that foster the resilience and adaptability necessary for a successful legal career, says Tina Dorr of Barnes & Thornburg.
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Key Steps For Traversing Federal Grant Terminations
For grantees, the Trump administration’s unexpected termination or alteration of billions of dollars in federal grants across multiple agencies necessitates a thorough understanding of the legal rights and obligations involved, either in challenging such terminations or engaging in grant termination settlements and closeout procedures, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.
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Challenges For Fiduciaries Adding Crypto To 401(k) Plans
As cryptocurrencies gain popularity and their restrictions loosen, investors may become interested in adding crypto options to their retirement plans, but fiduciaries should consider how to balance the increased demand and their obligations under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.
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Birthright Ruling Could Alter Consumer Financial Litigation
The U.S. Supreme Court’s upcoming decision about the validity of the nationwide injunctions in the birthright citizenship cases, argued on May 15, could make it much harder for trade associations to obtain nationwide relief from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's enforcement of invalid regulations, says Alan Kaplinsky at Ballard Spahr.
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FDA Commissioner Speech Suggests New Vision For Agency
In his first public remarks as U.S. Food and Drug Administration commissioner, Marty Makary outlined an ambitious framework for change centered around cultural restoration, scientific integrity, regulatory flexibility and selective modernization, and substantial enforcement shifts for the food and tobacco sectors, say attorneys at Arnall Golden.
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Opportunities And Challenges For The Texas Stock Exchange
While the new Texas Stock Exchange could be an interesting alternative to the NYSE and the Nasdaq due to the state’s robust economy and the TXSE’s high-profile leadership and publicity opportunities for listings, its success as a national securities exchange may hinge on resolving questions about its regulatory and cost advantages, say attorneys at Norton Rose.
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Pace Of Early Terminations Suggests Greater M&A Scrutiny
The nascent return of early termination under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act shows a more limited use than before its 2021 suspension under the Biden administration's Federal Trade Commission, suggesting deeper scrutiny of mergers and acquisitions across the board, says Michael Wise at Squire Patton.
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DOJ Export Declination Highlights Self-Reporting Benefits
The U.S. Department of Justice's recent decision not to prosecute a NASA contractor, despite a former employee pleading guilty to facilitating unlicensed exports, underscores the advantages available to companies that self-report sanctions violations, cooperate with investigations and implement timely remediation, say attorneys at Cleary.
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Review Risk Is Increasing For Foreign Real Estate Developers
Federal and state government efforts have been expanding oversight of foreign investment in U.S. real estate, necessitating careful assessment of risk and of the benefits of notifying the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, say attorneys at Troutman.
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Energy Order Brings Risks For Lenders And Borrowers Alike
A recent executive order directing the attorney general to submit a report next month with recommendations for halting enforcement of state laws the administration says are hampering energy resources presents risks for lenders and borrowers using state-generated carbon credits, but proactive steps now can help insulate against adverse consequences, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.
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What Employers Should Know About New Wash. WARN Act
Washington state's Securing Timely Notification and Benefits for Laid-Off Employees Act will soon require 60 days' notice for certain mass layoffs and business closures, so employers should understand how their obligations differ from those under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act before implementing layoffs or closings, say attorneys at Littler.
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What's At Stake As Trump Admin Targets Carbon Markets
Trading in greenhouse gas emissions and reductions has long been touted as a way to leverage market forces to tackle climate change cost-effectively, and that theory may be put to the test amid momentous progress and fresh challenges, particularly as the Trump administration takes aim at climate initiatives, say attorneys at DLA Piper.
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What To Know About New Wash. Community Association Law
A series of recent legislative updates that greatly expand application of the Washington Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act pose significant challenges to the volunteer board members who administer and operate condos and homeowners associations, but there are ways to lessen the newly imposed administrative burden, says Tim Feth at VF Law.