Top Stories

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  SEC Chair Gensler To Step Down When Trump Takes Office

  By Jessica Corso

  U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler said Thursday that he will be leaving the agency on J...(read more)

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  Gaetz Ends AG Bid, Citing 'Distraction' To Trump Transition

  By Phillip Bantz

  Former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration Thursday as President-elect Donald Trump's nomi...(read more)

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• Social Media MDL Judge Rips State Attys Defying Orders

  By Dorothy Atkins

  A California federal magistrate judge overseeing discovery in multidistrict litigation over social media platforms' allegedly addictive designs on Thursday ordered states to provide the names and state bar numbers of agency counsel who have refused to comply with discovery orders, threatening sanctions and asking, "What happened to the rule of law?"

• Boehringer Trial Over Zantac's Cancer Link Ends In Mistrial

  By Dorothy Atkins

  A California state judge declared a mistrial Thursday, ending a monthslong trial over product liability claims by a bladder cancer survivor who alleges Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc. failed to disclose cancer risks associated with the company's Zantac heartburn medication, according to the plaintiff's counsel.

• Walmart Hit With $34.7M Verdict For Defaming Truck Driver

  By Hailey Konnath

  A California jury has awarded $34.7 million to a former Walmart truck driver, finding that the retailer defamed him when it falsely accused him of fraud and fired him after he was injured on the job and filed a worker's compensation claim.

• Ill. Justices Overturn Jussie Smollett's Conviction

  By Cara Salvatore

  Illinois' high court ruled Thursday that prosecutors violated Jussie Smollett's constitutional rights by trying the actor after earlier dismissing his charges for falsely reporting a hate crime, saying the "fundamentally unfair" conviction must be voided.

• FCC Aims To Better Protect Undersea Telecom Cables

  By Christopher Cole

  From shortening license terms to working with federal law enforcement to protect underwater telecom infrastructure, the Federal Communications Commission launched an effort to shield submarine cables from ever-increasing national security risks on Thursday.

• DOJ Search Fixes Would Remake Google, Break Off Chrome

  By Bryan Koenig

  To give rival search engines a fighting chance against Google's illegal monopoly and its massive data and structural advantages, the Justice Department asked a D.C. federal judge Wednesday for sweeping changes that would divest the Chrome browser, open up Android devices and guarantee access to underlying search data.

• EPA Announces National Strategy To Tackle Plastic Pollution

  By Madeline Lyskawa

  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday unveiled its national strategy outlining how government agencies, businesses, nonprofits and communities can prevent plastic pollution. 

• In Tight Vote, Senate Panel OKs Bill To Set New PTAB Limits

  By Ryan Davis

  The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday narrowly voted to advance a bill that would impose new restrictions on Patent Trial and Appeal Board challenges, with several members expressing concern that it could drive up the cost of prescription drugs.

• Texas Sues Dallas For Marijuana Amnesty Measure

  By Spencer Brewer

  The Texas Office of the Attorney General sued the city of Dallas for adopting a ballot measure barring police from arresting people for misdemeanor marijuana possession, telling a state court Thursday the measure runs afoul of state law and is unconstitutional.

• Swedish EV Battery Co. Files For Ch. 11 With $5B Of Debt

  By Vince Sullivan

  Swedish electric vehicle battery maker Northvolt AB filed a Chapter 11 case in Texas bankruptcy court Thursday, saying it wants to find a partner to enable the company's innovation to continue in the burgeoning space while it addresses a significant liquidity shortfall.

• Phillips 66 Charged With Dumping Wastewater In LA County

  By Bonnie Eslinger

  A federal grand jury has indicted Phillips 66 on charges of violating the Clean Water Act by illegally discharging hundreds of thousands of gallons of wastewater into the Los Angeles County sewer system without reporting the violations to authorities, the U.S. Justice Department announced Thursday.

• Justices Urged To Take Up Fed. Circ.'s 1-Word PTAB Orders

  By Adam Lidgett

  Groups representing patent owners and inventors want the U.S. Supreme Court to take up a challenge to the Federal Circuit's practice of affirming decisions from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board with one-word orders.