Trump Admin Asks Justices To Curb Noncitizen Habeas Relief

By Ganesh Setty

The Trump administration implored the U.S. Supreme Court to cure a circuit split over noncitizens filing habeas petitions to challenge their detention during pending removal proceedings, warning of "intolerable disuniformity" in how the Immigration and Nationality Act is administered.

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Oil Cos. Escape Mich. Climate Change Antitrust Suit

By Keith Goldberg

A federal judge on Tuesday nixed a lawsuit from Michigan accusing global oil and gas giants of conspiring for decades to delay the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy, ruling the allegations do not amount to valid antitrust claims.

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Asylum-Seekers Win Class Cert. For Third-Country Challenge

By Tom Lotshaw

A D.C. federal judge certified a class of noncitizens challenging the Trump administration's use of international agreements to remove asylum-seekers from the U.S. to third countries, rejecting government arguments that the class couldn't pass muster.

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Guatemalan Children's Removal Rights Suit Stays Alive

By Elaine Briseño

A D.C. federal judge on Monday left intact most claims challenging attempts by immigration officials to deport unaccompanied Guatemalan children in federal custody, noting the "hasty attempt" by the government to remove the children without due process or counsel.

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DC Circ. Nixes Congressional Veto Over Capitol Protests

By Jared Foretek

A D.C. Circuit panel on Tuesday deemed regulations barring demonstrations on the U.S. Capitol building's Eastern steps without a congressional sponsor unconstitutional, holding that the government cannot "pick and choose" who gets to use the space for protected speech.

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Brief

Ga. Leaders Push For Nonpartisan Probate Elections

By David Aaro

Current and former Georgia officials on Tuesday threw their support behind a proposed constitutional amendment that would require probate judges to be elected in nonpartisan elections across the state, saying judges should be assessed on skill instead of politics.

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Del. High Court Upholds Permanent Absentee Voting Law

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Supreme Court has preserved the state's permanent absentee voting law, rejecting two state Senate candidates' argument that the system violates the Delaware Constitution by allowing voters to automatically receive absentee ballots in future elections without reestablishing their eligibility each time.

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Analysis

4 Flashpoints In FDIC's Bid To Revamp Bank Merger Reviews

By Jon Hill

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s new plan to overhaul its bank merger review process is aimed at delivering faster, more predictable decisions on deals, but some of its key provisions could spark friction as banks and their critics weigh in over the coming weeks.

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Trump Admin Sued Over $289M In Soon-To-Lapse CDFI Funds

By Katryna Perera

A business advocacy group has sued the Trump administration, seeking to force it to distribute over $289 million in congressionally appropriated funds meant to support community development financial institutions before the funds lapse at the end of the month.

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DOJ Says Fired NCUA Members Aren't Like Fed Officials

By Katryna Perera

The U.S. Department of Justice is urging the D.C. Circuit to reverse a district court order reinstating ousted National Credit Union Administration board members, arguing Congress didn't impose presidential removal restrictions on the NCUA and that the agency isn't analogous to the Federal Reserve.

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SEC E-Delivery Plan Draws Access Concerns, Enviro Praise

By Jessica Corso

State regulators, labor unions and at least one member of Congress are among those urging the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to rethink a proposal that would allow issuers and market intermediaries to default to electronic delivery of investor documents, while Wall Street groups and environmental advocates praised the measure.

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Feds' Latest Permit For Calif. Pipeline Challenged At 9th Circ.

By Rachel Riley

Environmental groups are urging the Ninth Circuit to review Trump administration's recent decision approving operations of two coastal California oil pipeline segments, including one that was shut down for years following a 2015 oil spill, saying on Tuesday that the new permit waives key safety requirements.

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Hydropower Plant Needs More Monitoring, Wash. Panel Says

By Ben Adlin

A Washington appeals panel broadly upheld the state's certification of a hydroelectric power project near the Columbia River on Monday, although the court said officials need to impose additional monitoring and reporting requirements to address potential leakage into the surrounding watershed.

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Blue States Expand Fight Over Trump Offshore Wind Buyouts

By Keith Goldberg

Democratic-led states on Tuesday stepped up their fight against the Trump administration's buyouts of U.S. offshore wind leases, filing a trio of lawsuits that seek to undo payments to developers for abandoning projects on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.

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Colo. Justices Mull Trial Court's Authority In Water Rights Suit

By Rachel Konieczny

The Colorado Supreme Court grappled Tuesday with ranchers' bid for the justices to overturn a water court's order allowing a change of water right for a right they say was not at issue, questioning counsel on the water court's authority to impose certain conditions in the neighbors' 10-year legal battle.

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HVAC Contractor Accused Of $8M 'Mass Save' Rebate Fraud

By Julie Manganis

A group of utility companies that participate in a Massachusetts energy-efficiency incentive program have alleged in state court that an HVAC contractor defrauded the program out of around $8 million through various schemes, including claiming rebates for heat pumps that were never installed.

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Spray Foam-Maker Says Calif. Is Forcing It To Fund Research

By Rae Ann Varona

Texas-based spray foam insulation manufacturer Quadrant Performance Materials has sued the California Department of Toxic Substances Control in federal court over an order the manufacturer alleges unconstitutionally conditions its ability to sell in the Golden State on subsidizing research and advocacy it does not agree with.

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8th Circ. Questions Iowa's Bid To Unblock Parts Of PBM Law

By Kellie Mejdrich

The Eighth Circuit on Tuesday appeared skeptical of the state of Iowa's bid to have the appellate court unblock parts of its law limiting pharmacy benefit managers' power to set drug prices, with multiple judges questioning different aspects of the state's standing and federal preemption analysis.

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FDA Must Revisit MiMedx Wound Care Powder Classification

By Danielle Ferguson

A Georgia federal judge vacated the Food and Drug Administration's classification of biomedical company MiMedx's wound care treatment as a biological product, which carries heightened regulatory requirements, finding the agency's determination was arbitrary because it had classified similar products as devices.

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USPTO Announces New AI Chief, Int'l Pilot, Outreach Office

By Theresa Schliep

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has a new leader for artificial intelligence, is participating in a pilot program for a global intellectual property recordation system and is launching the latest outreach office. Here's what you need to know.

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Big Tech Backs Samsung At Fed. Circ. Over Patent Injunctions

By Dani Kass

Top technology companies and various industry groups have urged the Federal Circuit to deny Collision Communications an injunction after the patent owner's $445.5 million infringement verdict against Samsung, saying an injunction would undermine U.S. Supreme Court precedent.

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Law Firm Says Illinois Tollway Owes Limo-Crash Defense Fees

By Celeste Bott

The Illinois State Toll Highway Authority is being sued in Illinois state court by a Chicago law firm claiming the agency has failed to pay attorney fees for its defense in litigation over a catastrophic 2016 limousine crash.

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CFTC Warns Prediction Platforms Of 'Mention Market' Risks

By Aislinn Keely

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Tuesday warned prediction market operators that offering wagers on whether a person will say certain words, interact with someone or attend an event comes with heightened manipulation risks that platforms must address before listing.

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Kalshi Seeks CFTC OK For Event Contract Margin Trading

By Aislinn Keely

Kalshi on Tuesday asked the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission to sign off on a framework for allowing certain users to trade with borrowed funds, in a move aimed at drawing more institutional activity to the prediction market platform.

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'Yikes' Email Sinks BIPA Coverage For Donut, Transport Cos.

By Lauraann Wood

An email stating "Yikes ... no" in response to outside counsel's inquiry regarding a commercial bakery's biometric data collection practices proves the business and a logistics company misrepresented material facts while seeking insurance that could have covered an underlying privacy dispute, an Illinois federal judge said Monday.

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FTC's Ferguson: Don't Fight New Fed. Courts Merger Policy

By Bryan Koenig

Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson on Tuesday warned companies that fighting the FTC's shift to challenging mergers exclusively in federal court risks making "your life more difficult."

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Colo. Hospital Seeks To Toss Meta Pixel Patient Data Suit

By MJ Koo

A Colorado hospital system has asked a federal court to toss a proposed class action accusing it of illegally sharing patients' browsing data with Meta through a website tracking tool, arguing the patient who sued failed to show he was harmed and that the conduct does not violate federal wiretapping law.

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Gun Industry Says Conn. Pistol Ban Violates 2nd Amendment

By Brian Steele

A firearm industry trade association, a gunmaker and a retailer have pushed back on a Connecticut state law banning pistols that can be converted into fully automatic weapons, launching a federal lawsuit that largely mirrors a challenge Glock brought the same day.

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EU, Philippines Reach Preliminary Free Trade Deal

By Jack McLoone

The European Union and the Philippines have reached a "substantial agreement" on a free trade deal that would mutually reduce or remove tariffs on 97% of trade between them, the bloc announced Tuesday.

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Commerce Sets Zero-Tariff Rules For Specialty Drugs

By Dylan Moroses

Nuclear medicine and animal healthcare drugs are some of the products that will qualify for a zero rate when tariffs on imported pharmaceuticals take effect at the end of the month, according to a notice issued by the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security.

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Commerce On The Lookout For Polysilicon Stockpiling

By Jack McLoone

The U.S. Department of Commerce is looking to prevent the stockpiling of imported polysilicon and derivative products ahead of tariffs and price floors that will come into effect in December, it said in new rules Tuesday.

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Wash. Appeals Court Revives Colo. Tax Payment Dispute

By Maria Koklanaris

Whether intercompany payments count as profit, royalties or taxable management fees is a disputed question of fact, a Washington state appellate panel said Tuesday, ordering back to a trial court a dispute over whether a Colorado company and its affiliates owe Washington's business and occupation tax.

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Dispensary's Tax Deduction Properly Nixed, IRS Tells 9th Circ.

By Zak Kostro

The U.S. Tax Court correctly ruled that a San Francisco marijuana dispensary's expenses found to be tied to trafficking in controlled substances aren't deductible, the IRS told the Ninth Circuit, saying such a deduction shouldn't be allowed in determining an amount to settle the business's $3 million tax debt.

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RI Judge Vacates Feds' Noncitizen Benefit Restrictions

By Tom Lotshaw

New York and other states applauded a Rhode Island federal judge's finding that the Trump administration flouted rulemaking requirements when it reinterpreted a 30-year-old welfare reform bill to try to subject a slew of federally funded benefit programs to immigration status verification requirements.

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ICE Won't Abide By Deported Man's Demands To Return Home

By Nadia Dreid

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is being held in contempt for wrongly deporting a young man to El Salvador against court orders, but the agency has told the court it believes its contempt has been cured because it's done its best to facilitate the man's return.

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GOP Sen. Seeks Don Jr., Hunter Biden Biz Dealings Probes

By Rae Ann Varona

Sen. John Curtis urged Senate Judiciary Committee leaders to subpoena Donald Trump Jr. and Hunter Biden to testify about past business dealings with foreign individuals and entities, citing reports of a Russian oligarch and Vladimir Putin associate gifting the wedding after-party of President Donald Trump's oldest son in May.

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Ex-Charlotte Councilwoman Gets 10 Months For COVID Fraud

By Hayley Fowler

A former city council member in Charlotte, North Carolina, was sentenced Tuesday to 10 months in federal prison on one count of wire fraud conspiracy after prosecutors said she submitted sham applications for COVID-19 relief funds with her two daughters.

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Pa. Gov., Legislators Must Face Public-Defense Funding Suit

By Parker Quinlan

A divided Pennsylvania appeals court has allowed a petition filed against the commonwealth's top political leaders to proceed, granting a path forward for the claims that chronic underfunding of public defender offices has led to indigent criminal defendants receiving ineffective legal assistance.

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DC Judge Tosses Okla. Tribes' Gaming Compact Challenge

By Crystal Owens

A D.C. district court judge has handed the federal government a summary judgment win in a challenge by four tribes in a long-running dispute over gaming compacts, finding that the Indigenous nations failed to show they have standing.

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FCC Seeks $25K For Radio Jamming During Alleged Burglary

By Christopher Cole

The Federal Communications Commission floated on Tuesday a $25,000 fine against three people who, it said, used radio signal jamming devices while apparently trying to impede police during a jewelry store burglary last year in Texas.

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Cities Say Local Permits Not 'Hurdle' To Broadband

By Nadia Dreid

The nation's cities, counties, towns and villages are not pleased with the Federal Communications Commission's decision to work on a proposal that would allow the agency to preempt local reviews of wireline deployments if the FCC thinks localities are dragging their feet.

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Telecom Looks To Retire Legacy Phone Lines In NH, Maine

By Christopher Cole

A regional telecom provider has asked the Federal Communications Commission to approve a technology transition that would let the company switch out legacy systems for internet protocol networks in Maine and New Hampshire.

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Pot Shop Seeks Summary Judgment In Jushi Antitrust Suit

By Jonathan Capriel

There is simply no way cannabis giant Jushi Holdings Inc. can justify tempting the sellers of a dispensary with a $10 million bonus provided they keep a rival out of town, a would-be Massachusetts operator argued, telling a federal court that the provision is "naked" anticompetitive behavior.

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4 Paths To AI Safety Coordination Amid Antitrust Debate

Frontier artificial intelligence companies have more room for collective safety work than the debate over an antitrust waiver suggests, with several existing avenues providing different degrees of protection and oversight, says Evan Miller at V&E.

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The Preemption Gap In Prediction Market High Court Petitions

The Supreme Court is considering three certiorari petitions following a split in prediction market litigation between the Third and Ninth circuits, but one of the petitions would not allow the court to reach the express preemption question, which would leave the dispute half-resolved, says Jordan Garman at Withers.

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Tips From Apex Ruling On Handling Workers' Public Criticism

A National Labor Relations Board judge’s recent finding that Apex Fintech Services illegally reined in an employee’s public criticism on LinkedIn should caution employers that overbroad policies and reflexive responses may not only fail to defend the company’s reputation, but compound risks of federal labor charges, say attorneys at Krevolin Horst.

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How Data Center Projects Can Navigate Wyo. Siting Process

As opposition to data center development grows nationwide, the way that Wyoming is handling the issue through its industrial siting process offers a counterintuitive lesson: More process, not less, can provide both meaningful scrutiny and a clear path forward for projects, says Jeffrey Pope at Holland & Hart.

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Cooley Adds GOP Hill Veteran To Congressional Probes Group

By Alison Knezevich

Cooley LLP announced Wednesday it has brought on a veteran Capitol Hill attorney as it continues to grow its congressional investigations practice launched in 2024.

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Tarter Krinsky Data Breach May Have Affected Health Info

By Andrea Keckley

Tarter Krinsky & Drogin LLP said in a letter this month that a data breach last year may have compromised protected health information the firm possessed due to its representation of an unnamed healthcare provider.

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Offit Kurman Names President To Succeed Longtime Chair

By Emily Johnson

Offit Kurman Attorneys At Law has selected its president to succeed the only chairman in the firm's nearly four-decade history, turning to a 22-year firm veteran who helped start its litigation department, the firm announced on Wednesday.

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Fed. Panel At Standstill Over ABA Law School Accreditor Role

By Emma Cueto

A key U.S. Department of Education committee deadlocked Wednesday over whether the American Bar Association council responsible for approving law schools should continue as a federally recognized accreditor, tabling the issue until Thursday after different proposals failed to win majority support.

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NY Judge Dismisses States' DOGE Treasury Data Access Suit

By Rae Ann Varona

A New York federal judge Wednesday tossed several states' lawsuit that challenged Department of Government Efficiency staff access to U.S. Department of the Treasury data, saying DOGE's dissolution rendered the states' access claims moot and that they failed to allege that any federal funding due to them was ultimately canceled.

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Senate Confirms Abbott Aide To Texas Federal Bench

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate voted 50-47, along party lines, on Wednesday to confirm Angela Colmenero, deputy chief of staff to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, to serve on the Southern District of Texas.

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FTC Backs Proposed Education Dept. Accreditation Reforms

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

The Federal Trade Commission has endorsed the U.S. Department of Education's proposal to expand higher education accreditation options and promote competition among accreditation agencies.

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