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Public Policy
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January 16, 2025
FCC Rejects TV License Attacks As Leadership Switch Nears
The Federal Communications Commission rejected four controversial petitions targeting major news broadcasters Thursday, dispensing with the cases just days before Donald Trump reclaims the White House and installs a Republican majority on the commission.
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January 16, 2025
UK CMA Settles Sports Betting Company Divestiture
Spreadex has appealed an order from the U.K.'s competition enforcer commanding it to sell off a sports betting company that it acquired in 2023, but in the meantime, it is taking all the necessary steps to comply with the agency's order.
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January 16, 2025
SEC's General Counsel Barbero To Exit As Trump Takes Office
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced Thursday that General Counsel Megan Barbero will depart the agency on the day of President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration, capping a nearly two-year run that saw the agency face setbacks to its regulatory powers before conservative courts, but also notch some important wins.
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January 16, 2025
Biden Makes Final Push To Fortify US Cybersecurity Posture
President Joe Biden took the latest step toward boosting the nation's cybersecurity Thursday, issuing an executive order that requires software vendors that work with the government to prove they're meeting certain security standards and promote the use of artificial intelligence for cyberdefense.
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January 16, 2025
7th Circ. Mulls Preemption Of HUD's Disparate-Impact Rule
A Seventh Circuit judge said Thursday he found it odd that a trade association for insurers was bringing a facial challenge to a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development rule governing disparate-impact claims under the Fair Housing Act that would effectively require "a 50-state survey to adjudicate."
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January 16, 2025
Trump's HUD Pick Opposes Telework, Backs Opportunity Zones
Eric Scott Turner, President-elect Donald Trump's pick to lead the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, said he would bring the agency's largely remote workforce back to the office and boost a popular incentive for development in testimony before the U.S. Senate Banking Committee on Jan. 16.
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January 16, 2025
Tribes, ND Spar Over High Court's Voting Rights Order
Two North Dakota tribes say a decision by the Supreme Court rejecting an appeal over the state's voting subdistricts forecloses the secretary of state's argument that race was a predominant factor in redrawing the districts.
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January 16, 2025
GOP Describes FTC Dems' Last Days As 'Farcical,' 'Senseless'
Democratic enforcers at the U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission are on a blitz of guidelines and complaints in their last days at the agencies, a push increasingly assailed by FTC Republicans who've said Democratic-specific efforts to enshrine antitrust safeguards for workers and more "has no future."
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January 16, 2025
Cherokee, Feds Reach $80M Settlement In Accounting Fight
The Cherokee Nation and the federal government have settled a dispute for $80 million after a D.C. federal court last year determined that the U.S. had not fulfilled its duty to provide the tribe with a full accounting of its federal trust assets, ending nearly a decade of litigation.
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January 16, 2025
Trump AG Nominee Pam Bondi's Net Worth Tops $12M
President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for attorney general, Pam Bondi, has a net worth of over $12 million and holds stock in Trump's media company, according to financial disclosures shared with Law360.
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January 16, 2025
Trump's DOT Pick Says Air Safety, New Tech Big Priorities
President-elect Donald Trump's would-be transportation secretary pledged to oversee a leaner and more efficient U.S. Department of Transportation focused on expediting project permitting, prioritizing mega infrastructure projects, and ensuring that Boeing and aviation safety gets "back on track."
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January 16, 2025
DHS Unit Clarifies EB-2 National Interest Waiver Eligibility
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services have unveiled new guidance clarifying the eligibility criteria for EB-2 employment-based immigration petitions for applicants with advanced degrees or exceptional ability in the sciences, arts or business to get national interest waivers.
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January 16, 2025
Quarry, Conn. Town Eye Settlement In $9.5M Shutdown Feud
The town of East Haven, Connecticut, and a quarry owner are in settlement talks to end both a lawsuit and an appeal of the owner's $10.6 million bench trial win on claims he was forced to shut down operations for improper political reasons, a federal district court filing indicates.
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January 16, 2025
Gov't Wants Time During Epic, Google's 9th Circ. Face-Off
When Epic Games and Google face off next month at the Ninth Circuit, the federal government is hoping it will get a few minutes to state its case for why the appellate court shouldn't overturn an order forcing Google to allow alternative app stores on its platform, the government said in a recent motion.
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January 16, 2025
FDIC Case Belongs In Fed. Court After Jarkesy, 5th Circ. Told
A former Herring Bank executive argued in a Fifth Circuit brief that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s in-house enforcement proceedings against him denied him his right to a jury trial in federal court, saying the allegations against him involve legal issues that have historically been decided by juries.
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January 16, 2025
Antitrust's 'Moment' Has Arrived, Thanks To Biden Enforcers
As President-elect Donald Trump retakes the White House, with antitrust picks operating under a mandate to go after Big Tech and "censorship" with enforcement that's vigorous, but not stifling, which key parts of President Joe Biden's competition law legacy may last and what won't are coming into focus.
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January 16, 2025
NC Gov. Boosts Abortion Safeguards Amid 'Alarming Attacks'
North Carolina's newly minted Gov. Josh Stein on Thursday in one of his first official acts rolled out an executive order that shores up abortion protections in the Tar Heel state, joining the ranks of other Democratic politicians seeking to cement progressive priorities ahead of a second Trump administration.
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January 16, 2025
USPTO Seeks Views On 'Traditional Knowledge' IP Treaty
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office requested comments Thursday on whether the U.S. should sign an international treaty that could require patent applicants to disclose if an invention draws on the traditional knowledge of indigenous people, which has concerned business groups.
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January 16, 2025
Browns Stadium Fight Belongs In Ohio State Court, Judge Told
The city of Cleveland has sued the Browns in Ohio state court in an attempt to block the NFL team's planned stadium move, as the city and the state are urging the judge in a separate federal case to toss the team's bid to relocate to the suburbs.
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January 16, 2025
7th Circ. Judges Ask TSA Who Gets To Define 'Emergency'
A Seventh Circuit judge on Thursday questioned how much deference the court should give to the Transportation Security Administration's definition of an "emergency" in a railway's lawsuit claiming TSA skipped normal rulemaking procedures to impose cybersecurity mandates on freight rail companies without pointing to an emergency that warranted it.
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January 16, 2025
PE Exec Nominated To Lead Fannie, Freddie Regulator
President-elect Donald Trump said he will nominate Bill Pulte, the CEO of private equity firm Pulte Capital, to lead the agency regulating Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
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January 16, 2025
Trump EPA Pick Faces Climate Questions, Dodges Details
President-elect Donald Trump's pick to lead the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday tried to steer clear of controversy at a Senate confirmation hearing, taking a conciliatory tone, deferring judgment on specific matters and promising to exercise independence.
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January 16, 2025
Former NY Cannabis Regulator Backs Embattled Program
The former leader of New York's cannabis regulator and an architect of the state's marijuana legalization law on Thursday defended the integrity of the agency before a roomful of cannabis attorneys, some of whom have litigated against its core policies.
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January 16, 2025
FedEx Worker Wage Fight Ruling Likely On Hold
A Connecticut federal judge said Thursday that she is unlikely to rule on dueling summary judgment motions from FedEx Ground Package System Inc. and a class of workers demanding compensation for the time spent on company security screenings until the Second Circuit hands down its decision in a similar case.
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January 16, 2025
9th Circ. Affirms $23.2M Judgment In ICE Detainee Wage Trial
A split Ninth Circuit panel on Thursday upheld a $23.2 million district court judgment in favor of a class of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees and Washington state, ruling that the GEO Group isn't immune from paying the detainees the state minimum wage for their involvement in a work program.
Expert Analysis
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Executive Orders That Could Affect Financial Services In 2025
The incoming Trump administration is likely to quickly revive or update a number of prior executive orders, and possibly issue new ones, that could affect financial services by emphasizing market discipline rather than regulatory initiatives to drive change in the industry, say attorneys at Davis Wright.
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The State Of USPTO Rulemaking At The End Of Vidal's Term
As U.S. Patent and Trademark Office director, Kathi Vidal placed a particular emphasis on formal rulemaking — so as she returns to private practice this week, attorneys at Irell take stock of which of her proposals made it across the finish line, and where the rest stand on the cusp of a new administration.
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How New Merger Filing Rules Will Affect Economic Advocacy
New rules from the antitrust agencies significantly change the Hart-Scott-Rodino premerger notification process and will necessitate rigorous economic analysis earlier in the merging process as the information provided in the filings reflects important antitrust considerations, says Andrea Asoni at Charles River.
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What Loper Bright And Trump 2.0 Mean For New Transpo Tech
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, combined with the incoming Trump administration's deregulatory agenda, will likely lead to fewer new regulations on emerging transportation technologies like autonomous vehicles — and more careful and protracted drafting of any regulations that are produced, say attorneys at Venable.
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'Minimal Participant' Bar Is Tough To Clear For Whistleblowers
Under the U.S. Department of Justice’s corporate whistleblower pilot program, would-be whistleblowers will find it tough to show that they only minimally participated in criminal misconduct while still providing material information, but sentencing precedent shows how they might prove their eligibility for an award, say attorneys at MoloLamken.
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Opinion
How Trump Admin Should Address Indian Country Priorities
The incoming Trump administration should consider four high-level policy recommendations if it wants to succeed at improving the quality of life for Native Americans throughout the U.S., says Mike Andrews at McGuireWoods.
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9 Things To Expect From Trump's Surprising DOL Pick
The unexpected nomination of Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, R-Ore., to lead the U.S. Department of Labor reflects a blend of pro-business and pro-labor leanings, and signals that employers should prepare for a mix of continuity and moderate adjustments in the coming years, say attorneys at Fisher Phillips.
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Preparing For More Limber Federal Supply Chain Oversight
Ahead of the Federal Acquisition Security Council Improvement Act, which would speed up federal acquisition security risk investigations and federal procurement bans, companies should take steps to identify indirect involvement with foreign adversaries in their supply chains and prepare to respond quickly to a FASC recommendation, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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A Look At SEC, CFTC's Record Year For Whistleblower Awards
Another banner year shows that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission have developed the gold standard for whistleblower award programs, but a CFTC funding crisis threatens to derail that program's success, say Andrew Feller and Geoff Schweller at Kohn Kohn.
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Green Projects Face States' Foreign Land Ownership Limits
As states impose restrictions and disclosure requirements around foreign investment in agricultural land — in some cases piggybacking on existing federal rules — renewable energy developers and investors must pay close attention to how the rules vary, says Daniel Fanning at Husch Blackwell.
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What 2024 Trends In Marketing, Comms Hiring Mean For 2025
The state of hiring in legal industry marketing, business development and communications over the past 12 months was marked by a number of trends — from changes in the C-suite to lateral move challenges — providing clues for what’s to come in the year ahead, says Ben Curle at Ambition.
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The Prospects Of Pa. Gaining Its Own Antitrust Law After 2024
In the only state that does not have its own antitrust law, Pennsylvania's business community's strong opposition to the Pennsylvania Open Markets Act signals a rough road lies ahead for passage of the bill after Republicans retained a narrow majority in the state Senate, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.
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California's New AV Law May Steer Policy Nationwide
California's new law establishing various requirements for autonomous vehicles is something other states should pay close attention to — especially because the Golden State's policies may become a de facto mandate for manufacturers due to its market size, says Vineet Dubey at Custodio Dubey.
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Alpine Ruling Previews Challenges To FINRA Authority
While the D.C. Circuit's holding that the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority can't expel member firm Alpine prior to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission review was relatively narrow, it foreshadows possibly broader constitutional challenges to FINRA's enforcement and other nongovernmental disciplinary programs, say attorneys at Stradley Ronon.
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Wage Whiplash: Surviving A Compliance Roller Coaster
As the transition to the Trump administration causes mounting uncertainty about federal wage and hour policies, employers can transform compliance challenges into opportunities for resilience and growth by taking key steps to comply with stricter state and local requirements, says Lee Jacobs at Barclay Damon.