A Government Accountability Office report found that a $285 billion maintenance backlog by the U.S. Department of Defense has led to widespread deterioration of its facilities, including buildings plagued by mold and algae and cramped workspaces.
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TUESDAY, AUGUST 25, 2026 Law360 iOS App Law360 Android App Follow Law360 on Facebook Follow Law360 on LinkedIn Follow Law360 on Twitter

TOP NEWS

DOD's $285B Maintenance Backlog Creates Risks, GAO Says

By Elaine Briseño

A Government Accountability Office report found that a $285 billion maintenance backlog by the U.S. Department of Defense has led to widespread deterioration of its facilities, including buildings plagued by mold and algae and cramped workspaces.

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DOD Invests $750M To Buy Rare-Earth Elements From Brazil

By Madeline Lyskawa

The U.S. Department of Defense said on Monday that it's investing $750 million in a special purpose vehicle meant to facilitate the U.S. government's purchase of mixed rare-earth carbonates processed by a company in Brazil.

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DOJ Seeks To Beat UC Researchers' Challenge Of Grant Axings

By Madeline Lyskawa

The U.S. Department of Justice argued on Friday that the Trump administration should prevail over University of California researchers' challenges of the termination of their grants, telling a California federal judge that the First Amendment doesn't apply to competitively awarded grants.

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Dems Seek GAO Review Of Federal Agencies Hacking Americans

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and U.S. Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, ranking member of the House Oversight Subcommittee on Federal Law Enforcement, have requested that the Government Accountability Office conduct a comprehensive review of federal law enforcement agencies' hacking of Americans' electronic devices.

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Fla. Judge Wants Discovery Cap In Navy Base Shooting Suit

By David Minsky

A Florida federal judge on Monday indicated that she'll unpause a lawsuit accusing the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia of gross negligence over a Navy base mass shooting perpetrated by one of its Royal Air Force Officers, saying a magistrate judge first must define the scope of discovery in the case.

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POLICY & REGULATION

FCC's Trusty Sees Need For Fresh Look At Universal Service

By Christopher Cole

Since taking a seat on the Federal Communications Commission more than a year ago, Olivia Trusty says her travels around some of the most rural parts of the country have convinced her of a need to bring the FCC's universal service programs up to date.

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Aviation Cos. Urge FCC To Pull Ligado Network Order

By Nadia Dreid

The FCC ought to revoke its controversial 2020 order giving Ligado Networks permission to build a mobile satellite network because the company won't be able to build it in a way that meets the "stringent conditions" the agency gave it, a coalition of groups and companies tells the agency.

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ENFORCEMENT

CFTC Weighs In On Criminal Case Over Soldier's Maduro Bet

By Pete Brush

A Manhattan federal judge gave leave Monday for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to oppose a bid by a U.S. Army sergeant to sink criminal charges over his alleged Polymarket bets on the capture of deposed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

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LITIGATION

Calif. Takes Trump Admin Pipeline Fight To 9th Circ.

By Keith Goldberg

California has asked the Ninth Circuit to review a district court's rejection of its bid to block the Trump administration's reopening of a controversial coastal oil pipeline, which a judge said was a valid use of federal emergency authority under the Defense Production Act.

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Drone Co. Investor Says Early Lock-Up Waiver Tanked Stock

By Sydney Price

Drone-maker Aevex Corp. has been accused in a shareholder's proposed class action of abruptly ending share restrictions after its April initial public offering, allowing a major stakeholder to profit while the company lost $900 million in market share due to a resulting decline in share price.

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Residents Ask To Drop SpaceX From Data Center Noise Suit

By Isaac Monterose

A proposed class of Mississippi residents told a federal court that they are OK with SpaceX exiting their lawsuit, which accused a trio of companies led by Elon Musk of causing a public nuisance with the noise from power generators at three AI data centers.

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Brief

Fed. Circ. Agrees To Speed Up Args In COVID Vax Patent Case

By Elliot Weld

The Federal Circuit on Monday agreed to accelerate the schedule in a COVID-19 vaccine patent dispute between Moderna and Arbutus Biopharma Corp. by holding arguments in November.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

6th Circ. Says Judge Can't Escape Teen Mock Arrest Suit

By Susan Smiley

A Sixth Circuit panel on Monday allowed to proceed a Michigan federal lawsuit filed against a Detroit judge who handcuffed a 15-year-old student and subjected her to a mock trial after she fell asleep in his courtroom, ruling that judicial immunity does not protect him.

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Ex-DOJ Fraud Attys Switch To Civil Focus At Boutique Firm

By Phillip Bantz

Criminal fraud prosecutors commonly pursue careers as white collar defense lawyers after exiting the U.S. Department of Justice, but a group of ex-DOJ lawyers who have recently joined national litigation boutique AXS Law Group are embarking on a path less traveled.

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Choate Brings On Former Willkie CFO In Boston

By Andrea Keckley

The former chief financial officer at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP has left to take on a new role as Choate Hall & Stewart LLP's CFO.

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Anthropic Appoints New General Counsel

By Matt Perez

Artificial intelligence giant Anthropic, which is behind the chatbot Claude, has appointed a new general counsel, with her predecessor moving into a role coordinating with international governments.

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Florida AG Slams Bar Complaint Against DHS Counsel

By Madison Arnold

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier wrote to the executive director of the Florida Bar to criticize a recent complaint made to the bar against James Percival, general counsel of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, for attacking judges.

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Greenberg Traurig Adds Morgan Lewis Employment Attorney

By Madison Arnold

A veteran Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP employment attorney in Miami has moved her practice to Greenberg Traurig LLP, the firm announced Tuesday.

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Cooley Life Sciences Atty Joins Foley & Lardner In San Diego

By Adrian Cruz

Foley & Lardner LLP announced that a life sciences attorney with over 30 years of experience has jumped to the firm's San Diego office as a partner from Cooley LLP.

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Firm Revenue Climbs 12.4% In First Half Of 2026

By Daniel Moritz-Rabson

Record billing rate gains, strong demand and increased productivity fueled a successful start to the year for the legal industry, according to a report released Tuesday.

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COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

APC

AST & Science LLC

Anthropic PBC

Arbutus Biopharma Corp.

Bank of America Corp.

Center for Biological Diversity Inc.

Cornell University

Dearborn Partners LLC

Google LLC

Ligado Networks LLC

LinkedIn Corp.

McKinsey & Co. Inc.

Moderna Inc.

Northeastern University

Outcome Health

Plains All American Pipeline L.P.

Plains GP Holdings LP

Princeton University

Sable Offshore Corp.

Space Exploration Technologies Corp.

The Florida Bar

The Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

University of Virginia

Wells Fargo & Co.

YouTube Inc.

LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

AXS Law Group

Agnifilo Intrater

Babst Calland

Brodsky Fotiu-Wojtowicz

Butler Snow LLP

Choate Hall

Cooley LLP

Criden & Love

Farella Braun

Fieger Law

Foley & Lardner

Geragos & Geragos

Goodwin Procter

Greenberg Traurig

Holland & Knight

Kellogg Hansen

Kilpatrick Townsend

Kirkland & Ellis

Kreindler & Kreindler

Latham & Watkins

Law Offices of Jeffrey E. McFadden

Lieff Cabraser

Maher Law Firm

Miner Barnhill

Morgan Lewis

Perkins Law

Perkins Law Group PLLC

Ropes & Gray

Scott&Scott

Waltzer Wiygul

Weitz & Luxenberg

Williams & Connolly

Willkie Farr

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

California Natural Resources Agency

California Supreme Court

Commodity Futures Trading Commission

Defense Logistics Agency

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Federal Communications Commission

Florida Supreme Court

Homeland Security Investigations

National Endowment for the Arts

National Foundation on the Arts & Humanities

National Institutes of Health

National Science Foundation

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration

U.S. Army

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

U.S. Department of Defense

U.S. Department of Energy

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. Department of Transportation

U.S. District Court for the Central District of California

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

U.S. International Development Finance Corp.

U.S. Navy

U.S. Senate

U.S. Supreme Court

US Government