5th Circ. Nixes Fed Approval For Offshore Oil Export Port

By Tom Lotshaw

A Fifth Circuit panel overturned a license approval for a deepwater port off Texas, ruling that the Trump administration failed to properly consider how a pipeline serving the offshore crude oil export facility would intersect a pipeline for another approved port.

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Supreme Court's Apple App Store Pause Lifted After 24 Hours

By Bryan Koenig

Following the expiration of a roughly 24-hour pause on the App Store dispute between Apple and Epic Games, Apple put a 15% commission on the table Thursday to try to comply with a mandate forcing it to dramatically cut what it charges for App Store sales.

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Judge Tosses DOJ's Antisemitism Case Against Harvard

By Carolyn Muyskens

A Massachusetts federal judge on Thursday threw out the Trump administration's suit alleging Harvard University failed to address antisemitism, finding the government lacked evidence of current civil rights violations on campus.

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Trump Picks Ex-Arkansas SG, Walmart Lawyer For 8th Circ.

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump has announced that he's looking to elevate Judge Lee Rudofsky of the Eastern District of Arkansas to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

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5th Circ. Restores Parts Of Hotly Contested Texas Voter Law

By Craig Clough

The Fifth Circuit on Wednesday reversed a lower court ruling that blocked several provisions of Texas' 2021 election law on the grounds they make voting harder for those with disabilities, holding the plaintiffs had failed to establish standing for most of their claims and rejecting the remaining claim on the merits.

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SEC May Vote To Ease Pay-To-Play Rules This Year

By Jessica Corso

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has informed the White House that it could soon move forward with plans to loosen the rules around political contributions made by investment advisers, regulations that SEC Chair Paul Atkins has recently called "a trap for the unwary."

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Fed Shouldn't Have State Banking 'Veto,' High Court Told

By Katryna Perera

Custodia Bank has received support from a pair of current and former senators and two other digital asset organizations in its fight with the Federal Reserve pending before the U.S. Supreme Court over a "master account."

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CFTC Flags Lapses In Event Contract Filings On Incentives

By Sarah Jarvis

U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission staff have said they've noticed an uptick in deficiencies in applications for incentive programs on event contracts and have laid out steps it believes exchanges or platforms must fulfill when self-certifying such programs.

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Del. Water Supplier Sues 9 Cos. Over PFAS

By Emily Field

A Delaware water supplier hit nine companies with a suit in state court alleging that they released forever chemicals into the watersheds that supply water to tens of thousands of residents, seeking to recoup at least $34.6 million for the cost of ensuring safe drinking water.

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Wash. Halts Conversion Therapy Ban For Therapist Amid Suit

By Gianna Ferrarin

Washington state has agreed not to enforce its ban on a practice commonly known as conversion therapy against a therapist while his First Amendment challenge to the prohibition plays out in federal court, according to a stipulation entered Thursday.

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Vaccine Challengers Slam Connecticut's 'One-Party Rule'

By Aaron Keller

Challengers to Connecticut's mandatory school vaccination laws have accused political leaders of exercising "one-party rule" over state government, claiming the House speaker, governor and attorney general, who are all Democrats, tweaked or defended state laws specifically to stymie their religious freedom claims.

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7 States Urge Feds To Reject $85B UP, Norfolk Southern Deal

By Lauren Berg

Seven state attorneys general are urging the federal Surface Transportation Board to reject the planned $85 billion merger between Union Pacific Corp. and Norfolk Southern Corp., saying the rail giants have not shown how the deal would serve the public interest.

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States Say DOT Illegally Sought 17M CDL Driver Records

By Jared Foretek

A group of 21 Democratic-led states and the District of Columbia accused the Trump administration on Thursday of illegally pressuring a nonprofit commercial driver database operator to hand over millions of Social Security numbers for immigration enforcement by threatening to cut funding for noncompliance.

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Kalshi Must Suspend Most Wash. Offerings, Install Geofencing

By Rachel Riley

A Washington state court judge has blocked Kalshi from offering event contracts to state residents in most of its prediction market categories while the attorney general's legal challenge unfolds, setting deadlines for the platform to institute location-based geofencing, while spurning the company's bid to maintain operations pending appeal.

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8th Circ. Partially Revives Iowa Adjuster Law Challenge

By Hope Patti

The Eighth Circuit has revived a residential contractor's claim that its First Amendment rights were violated when the Iowa Insurance Division issued warning notices pursuant to the state's public adjuster laws, while affirming that the statutes are not unconstitutional on their face and not void for vagueness.

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9th Circ. Says U. Of Wash. Is Immune From Vax Firing Suit

By Rachel Riley

A Ninth Circuit panel declined on Thursday to reinstate former University of Washington employees' claims that they were wrongfully fired after refusing the COVID-19 vaccination on religious grounds, concluding the university qualifies as an arm of the state that cannot be sued for civil rights violations under the relevant federal law.  

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CFPB Brass Accused Of 'Sham' Probe Of Union Leader

By Emily Brill

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is conducting a "sham" investigation into an employee who is active in the staff's union, the union's president said, taking the agency's new leader to task for its probe of the data scientist and National Treasury Employees Union local activist.

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DOJ's HPE Merger Settlement Approved Over State Objections

By Matthew Perlman

A California federal judge approved a controversial settlement struck by the U.S. Department of Justice to end a case challenging Hewlett Packard Enterprise's $14 billion purchase of Juniper Networks, despite concerns from state enforcers about political influence in the settlement process.

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9th Circ. Revives $140M Robo-Surgery Antitrust Case

By Jared Foretek

The Ninth Circuit on Thursday revived a surgical instrument repair company's antitrust suit accusing the makers of the da Vinci surgical robot of illegally blocking third parties from repairing its machines, ruling that a district judge erred in applying the U.S. Supreme Court's Kodak factors to the dispute.

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Warehouse Owner Faces Manslaughter Charge In Blast Death

By Susan Smiley

For the second time, a Michigan warehouse owner on Thursday saw a judge say involuntary manslaughter charges against him should move forward, in a case over a March 2024 explosion where shrapnel struck and killed a 19-year-old man.

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FCC Told Foreign Drone Ban Could Hinder Public Safety Work

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

A nonprofit that donates drones to public safety agencies and science programs has urged the Federal Communications Commission to reconsider a potential ban on foreign-made military-grade drones.

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White House Aims Customs AI Tool At Chinese Tariff Evasion

By Dylan Moroses

The White House identified Thursday over 40 countries from which imports carry a heightened risk of transshipment, an illegal practice of misrepresenting goods entering the U.S. that originate elsewhere such as China, and government officials are working on a new artificial intelligence enforcement tool to address those concerns.

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Trade Court Fine With Trump Ending De Minimis Tariff Break

By Dylan Moroses

President Donald Trump's revocation of a de minimis exemption for low-value goods to enter the U.S. duty-free was allowed under a law that the U.S. Supreme Court separately determined could not otherwise authorize tariffs on its own, the Court of International Trade ruled Thursday.

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Trade Court Backs Commerce On Russian Fertilizer Duty Redo

By Jack McLoone

The U.S. Department of Commerce's redone countervailing duty calculation for Russian phosphate fertilizer properly determined that a Russian company didn't benefit from unfairly priced mining rights, the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled, blessing a decision to cut the duty rate by more than half.

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6th Circ. Jails Minnesota Activist Over Anti-ICE Threats

By Parker Quinlan

A self-described "antifa" member from Minneapolis must return to jail on federal charges of cyberstalking and making threats against supporters of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, with a divided Sixth Circuit panel determining he still poses a threat to the public.

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Full 5th Circ. Moots Challenge Of Trump's Use Of Enemies Act

By Rae Ann Varona

The full Fifth Circuit Thursday tossed three Venezuelan nationals' lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump's use of a 1798 wartime law to try to deport them and other Venezuelans, saying the proposed class case was now moot after the government deported them without invoking the law.

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ICE Again Ordered To Fix 'Inhumane' Adelanto Detention Site

By Hailey Konnath

A California federal judge on Wednesday once again ordered U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to improve conditions at its Adelanto detention facility in the Mojave Desert, pointing to "severe and inhumane deficiencies" in necessities including access to safe food and water and sanitary living conditions.

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DHS Defends Building New ICE Facility In Silicon Valley

By Dorothy Atkins

The federal government fired back in California federal court Wednesday against a bid by California and Santa Clara County to block a planned ICE office and temporary holding facility in Silicon Valley, arguing that the project's alleged environmental, health and safety impacts are speculative and unsupported.

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Groups Say Shuttered Fla. Detention Center Threatens Wildlife

By David Minsky

Environmental groups have accused wildlife officials of polluting protected land through an immigrant detention center in the Everglades, alleging in an updated complaint filed in Florida federal court that the now-shuttered site continues to threaten endangered species in the area.

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Feds Can Release More Documents Under Epstein Law

By Andrea Keckley

A New York federal judge granted the federal government's request to unseal documents in a 2015 civil lawsuit filed by the late Virginia Giuffre, a Jeffrey Epstein accuser who sued Ghislaine Maxwell a decade before her death last year.

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Brief

DOJ Fraud Division To Reach 500 Staffers This Month

By Courtney Bublé

By the end of the month, there will be about 500 attorneys and staff in the U.S. Department of Justice's new fraud division, with more to come as time goes on.

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Wyo. Archaeologists Challenge Reach Of Native Graves Rule

By Crystal Owens

The Wyoming Association of Professional Archaeologists is asking a district court to block the transfer of six Indigenous collections to the federal government, arguing that an update to a law designed to protect Native American burial sites goes beyond what Congress intended.

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Arizona, Tribes Sign Deal To Offset Coal Economy Losses

By Crystal Owens

Arizona, the Hopi Tribe and the Navajo Nation have signed an agreement that aims to boost economic growth for tribal communities that lost thousands of jobs and millions in revenue after major coal mining companies stopped or scaled back operations in the Four Corners region.

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Sierra Nevada Gets FCC OK For High Frequency Flight Sensor

By Christopher Cole

The Federal Communications Commission gave the green light to Sierra Nevada Co. LLC's request to operate enhanced flight vision systems in the 92-95.5 gigahertz spectrum band.

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Wireless Cos. Want FCC Protection In Upper Microwave Bands

By Christopher Cole

Top wireless carriers are seeking assurance from the Federal Communications Commission that it will not craft new rules in the upper microwave spectrum bands that could lead to interference with their licensed use of the airwaves.

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9th Circ. Won't Revive Hemp Co.'s $2.75M Destruction Suit

By Mike Curley

The Ninth Circuit won't reinstate a suit against the city of Tacoma, Washington, by the owner of a hemp company who alleges the city's police department illegally destroyed $2.75 million worth of industrial hemp as illegal cannabis, saying he failed to establish municipal liability.

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Brief

NJ Takes Labor Peace Pact Fight In Pot Case To 3rd Circ.

By Sam Reisman

New Jersey cannabis regulators filed a notice Thursday that they would appeal a federal court's recent ruling that a state rule requiring marijuana businesses enter into labor peace agreements with unions in order to secure a license is preempted by federal law.

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Shumaker Advisors Adds Principal To Fla. Gov't Affairs Team

By Madison Arnold

Shumaker Advisors, Shumaker Loop & Kendrick LLP's lobbying arm, announced Thursday that had it expanded its government affairs and public policy capabilities in Florida with a new principal from consulting firm Rutledge Ecenia.

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Complying With Calif. Crypto License Law's 11th-Hour Rewrite

Financial businesses that applied early for the digital asset license now required in California should check their filings and compliance decisions against last-minute updates to the law and its rules, as overlooked changes could leave companies budgeting for nonexistent bonds, relying on an outdated exemption or racking up steep fines, say attorneys at Astraea Counsel.

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What To Know As DOJ Antitrust Biz Review Letters Return

The revival of the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division's business letter review program reflects a trend of engagement with the business community, but the program's value will depend on the government's response speed, depth of analysis and ability to provide meaningful practical guidance, say attorneys at MoFo.

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Series

Going To Hardcore Shows Makes Me A Better Lawyer

While government contracts law and the hardcore scene may seem entirely unrelated, in my experience, both are about community, focus, being prepared for the unexpected and managing chaos, says Isaac Natter at Fluet.

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Anti-DEI Group Asks FTC To Probe Law Fellowship Program

By Dorothy Atkins

An advocacy organization against diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives filed an antitrust complaint with the Federal Trade Commission Wednesday, accusing Sponsors for Educational Opportunity of engaging in anticompetitive practices by allegedly colluding on DEI metrics and falsely advertising its program.

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Baker Botts Atty Cleared Of Defamation In Inventor's Suit

By Carolina Bolado

A Florida federal judge on Thursday tossed a defamation claim against a Baker Botts LLP patent attorney after agreeing with a magistrate judge's conclusion that an inventor had not shown that the lawyer's comments to a reporter were defamatory.

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NYC Bar Committee Calls For Nationwide AI Rules Framework

By Andrea Keckley

A New York City Bar Association committee concluded in a policy paper published Wednesday that artificial intelligence tools "may assist legal work but cannot substitute for professional legal judgment," calling for a national framework to be built into the Model Rules of Professional Conduct governing its use.

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State Farm Attys Admit Filing Motions Full Of AI Hallucinations

By Jonathan Capriel

A law firm representing State Farm has admitted that its pretrial motions contained citations to nonexistent cases and legal quotes, errors that were seemingly "hallucinations" generated by AI software designed for lawyers and caught by the plaintiff's attorneys as they prepared for trial in a California state court case about fire damage coverage.

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JP Ward Attorney Exodus Delays Pa. Labor Trafficking Suit

By Matthew Santoni

A "staffing disruption" at the Pittsburgh law firm J.P. Ward & Associates led the firm to request a stay of a labor-trafficking case against hotels in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, after the firm was reduced to one attorney and two staff members, according to court filings.

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