Trump Names 9 Judicial Picks Across 6 States

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump announced nine nominees Tuesday for judicial spots in Florida, Texas, Louisiana, Kentucky, Oklahoma and Alaska. 

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ABC Sues FCC To Stop License Renewal 'Retaliation'

By Nadia Dreid

ABC sued the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday, accusing the Trump administration of using the agency to threaten the Disney-owned network's licenses in a bid to stop it from broadcasting anything displeasing to the president.

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'Profits Won': States Say Meta Targeted Kids As Trial Opens

By Dorothy Atkins

An attorney for more than two dozen states told a California federal jury during opening statements Tuesday that Meta hid what it knew about social media's mental health harms and prioritized profits over safety in a yearslong effort to hook kids on its platforms, while Meta defended its safety practices as best-in-class.

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Ex-DOJ Atty Says Trump's University Probes Were Political

By Hailey Konnath

Trump administration officials forged ahead with investigations into Harvard, Columbia and other universities despite its own lawyers raising legal concerns and, in some cases, finding "little to no factual predicate justifying opening them," according to a whistleblower disclosure from a former U.S. Department of Justice lawyer made public Tuesday.

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NJ Justices Signaled Likely End To Daniel's Law, Experts Say

By George Woolston

First Amendment experts said the New Jersey Supreme Court likely doomed the state's judicial privacy law when it found that the statute did not require those seeking damages to establish mental state, a decision that the Third Circuit hinted could result in the measure being struck down.

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Zuckerberg Waved Off Filter Criticism, Tenn. Jury Hears

By Cara Salvatore

A former Meta executive overseeing responsible innovation testified Tuesday that Mark Zuckerberg iced out her thoughts regarding the harm to teens of cosmetic surgery image filters, but said generally the company's employees are well intentioned when it comes to user safety.

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White House Aims To Shield Advisers Behind Law Firm EOs

By Emily Sawicki

The Trump administration and Justice Department "strongly object" to an Aug. 3 discovery order requiring them to name individuals involved in drafting and approving executive orders targeting law firms, amid their repeated refusal to hand over certain communications in a suit brought by the American Bar Association.

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SEC Proposes Long-Awaited Crypto Offering Exemptions

By Aislinn Keely

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday unveiled plans to exempt some cryptocurrency offerings from its registration requirements, and a safe harbor for some projects to eventually shed securities law obligations altogether.

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NCUA Board Left Sitting Empty As Trump Pick Waits In Wings

By Jon Hill

The National Credit Union Administration has entered its second week with an empty governing board, an unusual leadership vacuum that could limit the agency's ability to take certain formal actions until President Donald Trump's newly confirmed board pick assumes office.

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10th Circ. Revisits Banks' Challenge To Colo. Opt-Out Law

By Rachel Konieczny

The Tenth Circuit on Tuesday reconsidered a challenge from banking groups to a Colorado law intended to curb high-cost lending by out-of-state banks, pressing counsel on the practicality of Colorado's law and the history of a federal interest rate law.

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Exchanges Ask SEC To Delay Trade-Through Rule Withdrawal

By Jessica Corso

Some of the largest stock exchanges are urging the SEC to hold off on eliminating a rule that prohibits exchanges from executing trades at lower prices than the best displayed price available on other exchanges, saying the agency should first consider how the rule's elimination could impact broader market structure.

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DC Circ. Backs EPA Forever Chemicals Rules

By Emily Field

The D.C. Circuit Tuesday backed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's designation of the two most common forms of forever chemicals as hazardous substances under federal Superfund law, rejecting arguments from industry that the agency didn't have a legal basis to do so.

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DOI, Enviro Groups Trade Punches Over Wildlands Policy

By Joyce Hanson

The U.S. Department of the Interior has received pushback from conservation groups that oppose five comment processes among three federal agencies as the DOI reviews policies affecting wilderness areas on public lands nationwide.

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Trump Admin Moves To Cut Roadless Rule Forest Protections

By Tom Lotshaw

The U.S. Forest Service on Tuesday said it's moving ahead with a plan to repeal a decades-old rule that has protected tens of millions of acres of national forest from road building and logging, asserting it has unacceptably hampered efforts to reduce wildfire risk.

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Alaska Judge Voids 500-Acre Land Swap For Refuge Road

By Crystal Owens

A district court judge vacated an Interior Department decision to exchange 500 acres to allow road construction on Izembek National Wildlife Refuge lands for failing to comply with the provision of a federal Alaskan land law, saying in a Tuesday order that the transaction has no "force or effect."

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5th Circ. Rejects Texas Water Case Against River Authority

By Bryan Koenig

The Fifth Circuit refused Tuesday to revive a private water utility's antitrust case targeting Texas' San Jacinto River Authority contract fees designed to reduce groundwater use, concluding that the contract was not designed to fix prices.  

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At DC Circ., Pharma's Latest Pricing Loss Has Silver Linings

By Jeff Overley

The pharmaceutical industry's far-flung crusade against Medicare's new negotiation powers suffered a fresh setback Tuesday as the D.C. Circuit joined sister circuits in upholding the landmark pricing program, but the defeat contained consolation prizes that will fuel further litigation.

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Big Tech, PTAB Attys Urge Justices To Fix USPTO Power Grab

By Dani Kass

The Federal Circuit's refusal to curb the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office director's power over instituting Patent Trial and Appeal Board challenges has allowed leaders to "wreak havoc" without accountability, top tech companies have warned the U.S. Supreme Court.

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2 Cos. Claim Mich. City's Data Center Moratorium Is Unlawful

By Isaac Monterose

Two companies have accused the Michigan city of Gibraltar of enforcing "an unlawful moratorium" that is preventing them from converting a steel processing plant into a data center.

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Squires Says RPIs Must Be Named If They Can Control Cases

By Theresa Schliep

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office director explained why he rejected Viance LLC's challenge of a Koppers Performance Chemicals Inc. patent, faulting Viance for failing to disclose real parties in interest and writing that a company's mere ability to control a challenger makes it an RPI.

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Pennsylvania Now Requires Local Approval For Data Centers

By P.J. D'Annunzio

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said Tuesday he has signed an executive order imposing additional requirements on developers seeking to build data centers in the state, including a mandate that projects must obtain approval by local municipalities before the state will allow them to advance.

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High Court Told It Must Block Ballroom To Balance Power

By Katie Buehler

The U.S. Supreme Court must deny President Donald Trump's bid to lift a ban on construction of a White House ballroom, a historical preservation nonprofit told the justices Tuesday, contending that a ruling in the president's favor would wrongly enable him to continue usurping Congress' authority and dodging judicial review.

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Judge Rejects Bid To Stop Plan To Paint Over EEOB

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

A federal judge has denied a preservationist law firm's request for a preliminary injunction in its bid to stop the Trump administration from painting over a historic granite office building near the White House.

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Charlotte Transit Lost Millions To Fare Evasion, Auditor Says

By Hayley Fowler

The public transit system in Charlotte, North Carolina, lost millions of dollars on riders who don't pay for tickets and left $1.7 million in unspent safety dollars on the table, according to a state watchdog report penned in response to the fatal stabbing of a 23-year-old Ukrainian woman on the city's light rail system last year.

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DOJ Says 'Heroes' Garden Too Hypothetical To Support Suit

By Tom Lotshaw

The Trump administration's plans to install a National Garden of American Heroes in the capital's West Potomac Park remain too much of a preliminary concept to support a challenge brought by conservation and historic preservation groups, the U.S. Department of Justice told a Washington, D.C., federal judge.

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House GOP Still Pushing For Broadband Permit Bill This Year

By Christopher Cole

Despite months of delays, Republican leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives are still pressing for legislation that would compel local governments to act faster on broadband permit applications, a top congressional aide said Tuesday.

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Kalshi Invades NM Tribes' Exclusive Gaming Turf, Amici Say

By Crystal Owens

The first tribes to sue Kalshi alleging it violated the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act are backing four New Mexico Indigenous nations' efforts to block the prediction market from offering sports-related contracts on their lands, contending U.S. Supreme Court decisions dating back to 1832 recognize Indian political independence and self-governance.

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Mich. Panel Revives $900K Hyperbaric Chamber Coverage Suit

By Susan Smiley

A Michigan appellate court panel on Monday revived Corewell Health's suit seeking recovery of nearly $900,000 from State Farm Insurance for hyperbaric oxygen therapy that was provided to a child who suffered a traumatic brain injury after he was struck by a vehicle while riding his bike.

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FCC Seeks Public Input On AT&T's Bid To End Copper Service

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

The Federal Communications Commission is seeking public input on AT&T's application to stop providing domestic legacy voice service amid a push toward a wireless system.

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Pa. Justices Find 'Loophole' For Out-Of-State Pension Credit

By Matthew Santoni

A public school teacher can claim credit in Pennsylvania's pension system for her years of service in Arizona because of an apparent "loophole" that doesn't bar such carryovers if the employee has cashed out their other state pension, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.

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Colo. House Aide Says Dem Lawmakers Forced Her Out

By Benjamin Morse

A former Colorado House legislative aide accused three Democratic lawmakers in state court of violating her constitutional rights by retaliating against her for criticizing the handling of her medical leave and refusing to perform campaign work, creating conditions that forced her to resign.

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3rd Circ. Nixes Prof's Disability Bias Win, Calls For Trial

By Grace Elletson

The Third Circuit scrapped Tuesday an early win handed to a Kutztown University professor who claimed she faced disability discrimination when her requests to teach remotely to manage an autoimmune condition were denied, ruling the lower court was too quick to resolve the case given the disputes at play.

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Ex-Prosecutor Says DOJ Fired Her Over Abortion Protester Case

By Jack Karp

A former assistant U.S. attorney in Michigan is suing the Trump administration in D.C. federal court after being fired, saying her dismissal was retaliation for participating in the prosecution of anti-abortion activists.

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Uber Eats To Pay $4.4M To End Seattle Wage Theft Claims

By Ben Adlin

Uber Eats will again fork out millions of dollars to settle allegations from Seattle officials that the food delivery giant failed to pay its couriers what they're owed under municipal app-based worker laws, the Seattle Office of Labor Standards announced Tuesday.

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Publishers Target Google's 'Fake Privilege' In Ad Tech MDL

By Bryan Koenig

A group of website publishers targeting Google's advertising placement technology dominance in a wider multidistrict litigation asked a New York federal judge Monday to force discovery into corporate policies allegedly hiding evidence that have continuously haunted the technology giant across antitrust cases from government and private plaintiffs.

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Microsoft Harvests K-12 Student Data, Class Action Claims

By Ben Adlin

Microsoft Corp.'s partnerships with K-12 schools in Washington have allowed the technology giant to collect and profit from swaths of personal student data in violation of state and federal law, according to a proposed class action filed by four minor students who attend public schools in Spokane, Washington.

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Feds Bring New Charges Over $3.4B Iran-Backed Cybertheft

By Stewart Bishop

Manhattan federal prosecutors on Tuesday announced new charges against a group of Iranians accused of running a global, state-backed hacking campaign against private companies, government agencies and universities, in a wide-ranging cybertheft conspiracy that stole at least $3.4 billion in academic data and intellectual property.

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Texas AG Asks 1st Circ. To Revive ActBlue Suit

By Spencer Brewer

The Texas attorney general has asked the First Circuit to revive his Texas-based lawsuit against Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue after a Massachusetts federal court blocked it, saying the federal judge improperly stymied his state-based fraud claims.

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11th Circ. Affirms Kickback Convictions For Pain Doc, Salesman

By Danielle Ferguson

The Eleventh Circuit on Tuesday affirmed the conviction and sentences of a Florida pain doctor and a salesman found guilty of participating in a kickback conspiracy for prescribing a fentanyl spray, ruling prosecutors had "overwhelming" evidence the men knowingly participated in "sham" drug promotion events.

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ATF's Ghost Gun Rule Found Unconstitutional By Texas Judge

By Y. Peter Kang

A Texas federal judge has ruled that a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives rule restricting so-called ghost gun kits violates the Second Amendment because it runs counter to America's colonial tradition of home gunsmithing.

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Hesai Deprived Due Process Over DOD List, DC Circ. Says

By Craig Clough

A D.C. Circuit panel held Tuesday that a Department of Defense decision to include Shanghai lidar-maker Hesai on a list of Chinese military companies didn't give the company due process, reversing a lower court's ruling while also allowing the designation to remain in effect.

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Political Consultant Gets 5 Years In Venezuela FARA Case

By Carolina Bolado

A Florida federal judge on Tuesday sentenced the political consultant convicted alongside ex-Florida Rep. David Rivera to five years in prison after she was found guilty of willfully failing to register as a foreign agent for her work on a $50 million contract with a unit of Venezuela's state-owned oil company.

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Are Trump Diamond Tariff Breaks Tied To Gift? Wyden Asks

By Jack McLoone

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., on Tuesday demanded answers about President Donald Trump granting a tariff exemption for diamonds shortly after being given a gem-coated watch, claiming the circumstances may be tantamount to bribery, while also raising concerns about potential conflicts of interest in a separate duty investigation.

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Tax Court's Petition Deadline Isn't Flexible, 1st Circ. Rules

By Zak Kostro

The deadline for filing a petition in the U.S. Tax Court isn't a jurisdictional bar that prevents the court from hearing a Maine company's late-filed challenge of a transferee liability notice for unpaid taxes, but the deadline can't be extended to create fairness, the First Circuit said.

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11th Circ. Says Clerk's Notice Fail Sank Fla. Funds Seizure

By Carolina Bolado

The Eleventh Circuit ruled Monday that a Florida county court clerk violated the Fifth and Fourteenth amendments by taking funds deposited in a court registry as part of an eviction proceeding, because the clerk's notice to the owner of the funds was not reasonably calculated to reach him.

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4th Circ. Backs Block On ICE Actions At Houses Of Worship

By Britain Eakin

The Fourth Circuit on Tuesday affirmed a district court injunction blocking a 2025 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement policy that loosened prior restrictions on immigration enforcement in houses of worship, finding it likely burdens the free exercise of religion.

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Journalist Sues DHS, CBP Over Phone Seizure After Iran Trip

By Hailey Konnath

An American journalist says the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection violated his constitutional rights and federal privacy law when agents seized his phones at Dulles Airport after returning from a reporting trip to Iran, according to a suit filed Monday in Virginia federal court.

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Dems Urge DOJ To End 'Mega Master' Immigration Hearings

By Courtney Bublé

Democratic lawmakers from Illinois urged the U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday to cease scheduling dozens of immigrants for hearings at the same time in Illinois and other states, a practice they say fuels the administration's "mass deportation campaign."

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Ex-Meta Worker Says His EB-2 Letter Concerns Got Him Fired

By Carla Baranauckas

A former Meta Platforms Inc. product design manager sued the social media giant and his former supervisor in New Jersey federal court, claiming that he was fired after refusing to sign an immigration support letter for a colleague because he believed it contained inaccurate or unsupported facts.

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Conn. Pans DOJ's Injury Claims In Use-Of-Force Law Dispute

By Aaron Keller

The state of Connecticut has challenged the U.S. Department of Justice's attempt to invalidate recent laws on use of force, identification and face covering that two state officials said could affect federal officers, arguing the DOJ failed to allege "concrete harm" or validly claim federal officers can't be prosecuted for crimes.

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DEA Blasts Marijuana Foes' Objections To Rescheduling

By Sam Reisman

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration on Monday told an administrative law judge that federal restrictions should be loosened on marijuana and that opponents of cannabis reform brought a meritless challenge to health regulators' assessment of the drug's medical use.

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Jackson Lewis Atty Appointed Privacy, AI Lead Of L&E Global

By Matt Perez

Labor and employment firm Jackson Lewis PC announced Tuesday that its attorney Mary T. Costigan was appointed co-leader of data protection and artificial intelligence at L&E Global, an alliance affiliated with Jackson Lewis.

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What Calif.'s New Focus On Microplastics Means For Cos.

The recent move by California's Department of Toxic Substances Control to designate microplastics as candidate chemicals under its Safer Consumer Product regulations does not create a new product restriction — but it expands the agency's future reach by putting microplastics on the department’s regulatory runway, says Gregory Berlin at Alston & Bird.

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Upping Fed, FDIC's Insider Loan Cap May Ease Bank Burdens

Coordinated Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and Federal Reserve proposals to raise the 1970s-era cap for bank executives borrowing from their institutions represent a long-needed regulatory recalibration that would lighten compliance obligations caused by the outdated ceiling without diminishing the original protections against conflicts of interest, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.

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A Deepening Patent-Trademark Divide Over Irreparable Harm

Recent Federal Circuit decisions, along with legislation being considered in Congress, may exacerbate the differences that patent owners and trademark owners face when seeking to stop infringement before irreparable harm is caused, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.

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AI Chatbot's Medical Claims Highlight Enforcement Risks

The Pennsylvania State Board of Medicine's recent lawsuit against Character Technologies, arguing that an artificial intelligence chatbot engaged in the unlicensed practice of medicine, may provide other state licensing boards with a road map for going after AI platforms, and counsel should advise clients to calibrate compliance accordingly, say attorneys at Cooley.

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How Does In-House Pay Compare? Take The Law360 Survey

How do in-house salaries vary across industries, roles, and organizational revenue? What compensation tools are companies using to lure top talent? Help Law360 Pulse answer these questions and more in this year's In-House Compensation Survey.

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Troutman Sidelined Associate After Heart Attack, Suit Says

By Patrick Hoff

Troutman Pepper Locke LLP derailed an associate's career because he took medical leave to recover from a heart attack and spoke up about senior attorneys' fraudulent billing practices, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in New Jersey federal court.

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Bot Errors Doom Expert's Credibility In Tainted-Supplement Suit

By Rachel Riley

A Washington federal judge Tuesday disposed of a U.S. Army nurse's lawsuit claiming supplement maker Thesis Nootropics sold products tainted with amphetamines, concluding that a key expert destroyed his credibility by submitting a report containing bot-generated false citations — much like errors for which the plaintiffs' counsel was recently sanctioned.

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Quill & Arrow Says Ford Can't Rehash Lemon Law Fee Fights

By Linda Chiem

Quill & Arrow LLP has asked a California federal judge to dump a "retaliatory" lawsuit alleging the personal injury firm saddled Ford Motor Co. with high-priced legal bills for work purportedly handled by virtual assistants overseas or nonlawyers, saying the automaker is trying to chill product liability litigation.

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​​​​​​​Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court last week tackled disputes involving multibillion-dollar mergers, corporate oversight, founder control, SPAC litigation, commercial contracts and attorney fees.

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