Today's Legal Pulse
Biden sues DOJ to block release of interview audio
President Joe Biden has filed a federal lawsuit seeking to prevent the Department of Justice from publishing an audio recording of his interview. The action, reported by Axios and TIME, aims to keep the interview confidential amid political controversy.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Hogan Lovells and Cadwalader clear final merger hurdles
Lawsuit Accuses JetBlue of Using Personal Customer Data to Raise Fares
JetBlue is being sued in a proposed class action that alleges the airline uses customers' personal data to set ticket prices, a practice dubbed “surveillance pricing.” The complaint claims JetBlue hides tracking tools and shares data with third‑party vendors that influence fare increases. JetBlue denies employing personal data or artificial intelligence for pricing, stating fares simply reflect seat inventory and demand. Congressional lawmakers have asked the carrier for detailed answers, echoing broader scrutiny of airline pricing algorithms.
House Minority Solons Celebrate, Welcome ICC Confirmation of Charges vs Duterte
The International Criminal Court’s Pre‑Trial Chamber confirmed all charges against former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, alleging crimes against humanity for murder and attempted murder during the nation’s 2011‑2019 “war on drugs.” House minority legislators celebrated the decision, framing it as...
Department of Justice Officially Reschedules Marijuana: What Truckers Need to Know
The U.S. Department of Justice officially moved state‑licensed marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III, allowing only FDA‑approved products and those tied to state medical licenses to benefit. The change acknowledges medical value but does not legalize cannabis federally and leaves commercial...
Cumulus V. Nielsen: Harm Has Already Happened
The district court granted Cumulus an injunction against Nielsen’s alleged illegal tying of its audience measurement services, finding that the practice would irreparably damage Cumulus’s advertiser relationships, goodwill, and market share. Nielsen’s brief disputes the finding, saying Cumulus never demonstrated...
This Major “Watchdog” Just Got Exposed in a Way No One Saw Coming
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) was hit with an 11‑count federal indictment alleging it secretly funneled roughly $3 million to leaders of the Ku Klux Klan, neo‑Nazi groups, and white‑supremacist biker gangs. Prosecutors say the money was moved through five...
New York State Lawmakers Revive Bill to Curb Distressed Sovereign Debt Lawsuits
New York lawmakers have revived a bill to amend the state’s champerty law, aiming to limit investors’ ability to purchase distressed sovereign debt solely for litigation. The proposal would let courts dismiss claims deemed primarily litigation‑driven and replace the fixed...
Fallout From Cox Mega-Damages Reversal Continues as Publishers Streamline Anthropic Claims and Labels Ditch Copycat Verizon Case
The U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Cox Communications ruling, tightening the definition of contributory copyright infringement to require intent to induce or a service tailored to infringement. The decision cleared Verizon and other ISPs, including RCN, of pending piracy lawsuits,...
Handling Subject Access Requests with Confidence Under New Data Act
The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 gives UK HR teams new, legally backed tools to handle the expected flood of subject access requests (DSARs) that will follow the Employment Rights Act 2025’s reduction of the unfair‑dismissal qualifying period to...
Court Holds that 30-Day Deadline for Removing Cases to Federal Court Is Mandatory
The U.S. Supreme Court held that the 30‑day deadline for filing a notice of removal under 28 U.S.C. §1446(b)(1) is mandatory and cannot be extended by equitable tolling. In *Enbridge Energy v. Nessel*, the Court affirmed the Sixth Circuit’s reversal of a...
Kraken Calls for Reform of Digital Asset Taxes as Micro-Transactions Overwhelm Everyday Investors
Kraken disclosed that it issued more than 56 million Form 1099‑DA tax documents for the 2025 tax year, with the majority tied to micro‑transactions—nearly a third under $1, over half $10 or less, and three‑quarters below $50. The exchange argues that current...
'Made in Europe' Law Should Be Limited to Geographically Close Countries, Leading MEP Says
The European Parliament’s Industrial Accelerator Act proposes a “Made in Europe” preference for public procurement in strategic sectors such as clean‑tech, automotive, aluminium and steel. French MEP Christophe Grudler argues the rule should apply only to geographically close non‑EU partners...
Sight Sciences Secures Order on Post-Trial Motions
Sight Sciences (Nasdaq: SGHT) successfully defended its patent infringement verdict after Alcon and Ivantis sought post‑trial relief. On April 20, 2026, the Delaware federal court affirmed the jury’s finding of willful infringement and upheld $55.4 million in damages, rejecting Alcon’s motions...
College Students Using Deepfakes to Harass Could Be Investigated, Punished Under Proposed Law
Louisiana Senate Bill 347, championed by Sen. Regina Barrow, expands the state’s power‑based violence definition to include deepfakes, allowing colleges to investigate and punish students and employees who create AI‑generated sexual content. The measure cleared the Senate Education Committee unanimously...
Malta’s Notorious Gambling Laws ‘Incompatible’ with Single Market: EU Court Top Lawyer
The European Court of Justice’s advocate‑general Nicholas Emiliou issued an opinion that Malta’s 2023 Bill 55, which allows Maltese courts to refuse recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments against local gambling operators, breaches EU single‑market rules. The opinion labels the provision...
FTC Order in TruHeight Case Signals Scrutiny of Height Claims and Incentivized Reviews
The FTC issued an administrative order against TruHeight, finding its height‑increase claims for children unsubstantiated and its review practices deceptive. The agency required the company to back any health claims with competent, double‑blind clinical evidence and to stop incentivizing 5‑star...
Trump Administration Eases Rules on some Marijuana Categories. Here's What to Know
The Trump administration announced that medical marijuana will be moved from Schedule I to Schedule III, placing it alongside substances such as codeine. The change applies only to FDA‑approved products and those sold under state medical licenses, leaving recreational cannabis untouched. By...
The Story of California’s Advanced Clean Trucks Regulation
California’s Air Resources Board adopted the Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) regulation in 2020, mandating zero‑emission truck sales beginning in 2024 and scaling targets through 2035. The rule introduced a credit‑deficit trading system that lets manufacturers buy credits from peers who...
Tether Freezes $344 Million in USDT on Tron Tied to 'Illicit Activity'
Tether announced it has frozen $344 million worth of USDT on the Tron blockchain after coordination with U.S. law‑enforcement. The freeze affects two wallets flagged for suspected illicit activity, which blockchain‑analytics firm AMLbot linked to scam‑related documents. The move arrives amid...
A Bad Bet for Judicial Vetting: Moldova’s Parliament Echoing Polish Politics
In 2022 Moldova introduced a judicial vetting system to purge corruption, creating independent commissions to assess judges and prosecutors. This year the ruling parliamentary majority reduced the appointment threshold for commission members from a super‑majority to a simple majority. The...
Intimate Talks: Brussels Ponders the Naked Body in AI Bill
The EU is fine‑tuning its AI Act to ban AI‑driven nudification, after Elon Musk’s Grok tool generated millions of non‑consensual sexual images. A draft list defines intimate parts such as genitals, anus, buttocks and female nipples, while the inclusion of...
BIS Warns Cryptocurrency Exchanges Are Becoming ‘Shadow Banks,’ and Why That's a Risk
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) issued a 38‑page report warning that cryptocurrency exchanges are morphing into “shadow banks” by offering unsecured lending and high‑yield “earn” products without traditional safeguards. These services pool retail users’ assets into risky activities, lacking...
Littler Lounge: Summer Camp Vibes, Employer Obligations - The Realities of Seasonal Work
Littler’s latest podcast episode dives into the legal intricacies of running a summer‑camp‑style workplace. The hosts and guest outline employer duties that begin before campers arrive and extend beyond the season’s end, covering everything from hiring minors to managing on‑site...
Hardee’s Operator Files for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
ARC Burger, a major Hardee’s franchisee, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy after closing its 77 locations in December 2025. The closure followed a Hardee’s lawsuit accusing ARC of breaching franchise agreements, stemming from ARC’s 2023 purchase of the restaurants from Summit...
Comparing US and Canadian Space Launch Regulations: A Path to Sovereign Orbital Access
The United States’ FAA has long operated a performance‑based, single‑license framework for commercial space launches, recently consolidated under 14 CFR Part 450. Canada introduced the Space Launch Act (Bill C‑28) on April 21, 2026, creating its first permanent statutory regime that deliberately aligns with...
The French AI Resistance: Unions Push to Fast-Track Landmark Copyright Bill
On April 22, a coalition of eleven French unions representing audiovisual, music, and performing‑arts workers urged the government to fast‑track a landmark copyright bill aimed at curbing unlicensed use of copyrighted works by generative‑AI systems. The proposal would require AI...
The CLARITY Act: Blockchain Association, Crypto Council for Innovation Join to Demand Senate Moves on Crypto Market Infrastructure Legislation
The Blockchain Association and the Crypto Council for Innovation have jointly urged the Senate Banking Committee to move forward with the CLARITY Act, a market‑infrastructure bill that would create a federal framework for digital assets. The appeal is backed by...
Behind the Headlines: Tim Foden Talks Arbitration in Mining
Tim Foden, a veteran mining‑law specialist, has spent more than two decades representing mining firms in arbitration against sovereign governments. He has overseen dozens of high‑stakes disputes that often involve billions of dollars in compensation and project‑rights issues. Foden’s aggressive...
Oklahoma City Bans New Data Centers Until 2027
Oklahoma City’s council voted unanimously to place an emergency moratorium on all new data‑center zoning applications through the end of 2026. The ordinance, championed by City Manager Craig Freeman, gives officials time to evaluate the strain on utilities and draft...
UK Biobank Health Data Keeps Ending up on GitHub
UK Biobank has been using copyright takedown notices to remove health‑related data from GitHub, filing 110 requests since July 2025. The notices mainly target specific files such as Jupyter/R notebooks, genomic datasets, and CSV tables, rather than whole repositories. Developers...
Low Impact Amendments Finalisation 2026
On 23 April 2026 the Prudential Regulation Authority released a set of low‑impact amendments to its rulebook. The changes update fee invoice due dates for firms paying £50,000 (about $62,500) or more, delete obsolete MODR references in the Skills, Knowledge and Expertise...
Majority of CVs See Both Tiered Carry and Dual Return Metrics – Morgan Lewis
Morgan Lewis reports that more than half of private‑equity continuation vehicles (CVs) now employ tiered carried‑interest waterfalls that trigger based on both internal rate of return (IRR) and multiple on invested capital (MOIC) thresholds. The dual‑metric structure aligns general partners’...
Low Impact Amendments Consultation 2026
On 23 April 2026 the Prudential Regulation Authority released a consultation proposing a suite of low‑impact rule amendments. The changes clarify that firms must apply proportional consolidation when voting rights create participation, replace references to additional own‑funds with a Pillar 2A...
Ban on Phones in Schools: Support for Headteachers or Unnecessary Legislation?
The UK government announced a statutory ban on mobile phones in English schools, turning existing guidance into law. Research shows roughly 90% of secondary schools and almost all primary schools already restrict phone use, so the legislation largely codifies current...
Trump Administration Reclassifies Cannabis as Less Dangerous
The U.S. Department of Justice announced that products containing marijuana covered by the FDA or state medical licenses are being moved from Schedule I to Schedule III, putting them on par with codeine‑containing Tylenol. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche made the change...
Flash Justice Aims to Take Small-Claims Plaintiffs Not Just to the Form, But All the Way Through Filing
Flash Justice, an Israeli‑origin legal‑tech startup, launched in Texas in January as a certified electronic filing service provider. The platform guides users through the entire small‑claims process—intake, jurisdiction identification, document drafting, service, and e‑filing—via an AI‑driven workflow, charging a $99...
Justices to Hear Dispute over Cancer Warnings on Pesticide Labels
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear Monsanto Co. v. Durnell, a case that asks whether the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) preempts state requirements for cancer warnings on glyphosate‑based herbicides. The dispute stems from a Missouri jury that...
Abstract Brings AI-Powered Legislative Intelligence to Law Firms and Corporate Legal Teams
Abstract, a New York‑based legal‑tech startup, has launched an AI‑powered platform that adds an “intelligence layer” to legislative monitoring. The system builds client profiles from public and confidential data, scoring bills and regulations even when they lack industry‑specific keywords. It offers...
Epic's Surgical Reply Forces Veeva Into Arbitration Trap
Epic filed their Reply in Veeva Systems v. Epic this week, closing the MTD briefing. The Reply is tight and surgical - Epic quotes Veeva's own opposition back at itself three times in the first paragraph and builds the whole...
DOJ Shifts Sports Broadcasting Act Probe to Vegas
DOJ probe into Sports Broadcasting Act moved to Vegas this week as officials met with TV station operators at NAB convention to discuss sports TV marketplace and the SBA. W/@DanaMattioli https://t.co/1oyi55NoJX via @WSJ
ICC Confirms All Charges as Duterte Goes on Drug War Trial
The International Criminal Court confirmed three crimes‑against‑humanity counts against former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, covering 49 incidents and 78 victims from his 2011‑2019 drug war. The pre‑trial chamber found substantial grounds to hold Duterte responsible as an indirect co‑perpetrator, ordering...
China’s New Supply‑Chain Rules Pose Risk to US Companies
AFP: China’s new supply chain regulations could be a “concern” for US firms, @AmCham_China warned. The regulations, released April 7, allow authorities to take measures against foreign companies that “harm China’s industrial and supply chain security.” https://t.co/bmnFKekxT7
Warren: Paramount‑Warner Merger Still Faces Antitrust Battle
"The Paramount-Warner Bros. merger isn't a done deal," Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) said after the shareholder vote. "State attorneys general across the country are stepping up to stop this antitrust disaster. We need to keep up this fight." https://t.co/SuUqxaA7dz
Planned Saskatchewan Law Will Raise Fines for Unauthorized Medical Practice
Bill 55, the Medical Profession Amendment Act 2026, will amend Saskatchewan’s Medical Profession Act and Regulated Health Professions Act to expand the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan’s investigative and enforcement powers. The legislation raises maximum fines for unauthorized practice...
Big Firms Resist Stricter Scope 2 Emissions Reporting Rules
Apple, Amazon, Patagonia and other companies are pushing back against a proposed tightening of how they report their Scope 2 emissions from electricity https://t.co/yFnQ6aF4c4
Cocounsel’s $650
FACT OF THE DAY: cocounsel was purchased for $650 million US dollars in 2023 and made thomson reuters flagship AI offering. 3 years later, real reviews state:
Modernizing KYC with AWS Serverless Solutions and Agentic AI for Financial Services
Financial institutions are turning to AWS serverless services and agentic AI to overhaul legacy Know Your Customer (KYC) processes. By leveraging Amazon MSK for real‑time event streaming, Amazon Bedrock for AI‑driven document analysis, and AWS Lambda for on‑demand compute, the...
FCC Bans Dozens of Foreign‑Made Wi‑Fi Routers Over National‑Security Risks
The Federal Communications Commission announced a ban on the sale of dozens of foreign‑made Wi‑Fi routers, citing unacceptable national‑security risks. The list targets Chinese manufacturers, a U.S.‑registered firm owned by a Chinese company, and Russia’s Kaspersky Lab, tightening supply‑chain controls...
KYB Compliance in 2026: What Businesses Need to Know
Know Your Business (KYB) compliance is becoming mandatory across multiple sectors as 2026 regulations tighten under the U.S. Bank Secrecy Act, AMLA, and global FATF standards. The article outlines four core objectives—fraud prevention, regulatory compliance, risk management, and ecosystem integrity—while...
Reserve Bank Unveils Draft Insurance Prudential Reform Bill in New Zealand
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has released an exposure draft of the Insurance (Prudential Supervision) Amendment Bill for public consultation. The proposal would overhaul capital, risk‑based supervision and solvency rules, bringing the insurance sector into line with the Deposit...
BREAKING: The DOJ Just Quietly Became Elon Musk’s Shield Against a Child Exploitation Investigation
On April 18, 2026 the U.S. Department of Justice sent a letter to French authorities refusing to assist a criminal probe into Elon Musk’s X platform over the mass generation of child sexual abuse material by its Grok AI. The...