Legislation

Gun Dealers Can Now Screen Employees Through Background Checks

Gun dealers and other federally licensed firearms businesses will be able to run FBI criminal background checks on employees who handle weapons, under a...

Government Operations

Homeland Security Delays Formal-Entry Rules for International Mail

Importers, brokers, and logistics providers in the international postal network have until January 20, 2027, to comply with formal-entry requirements for...

Politics

Asylum Grant Rate Falls to 3% as Abandonments Surge

The defensive asylum grant rate in U.S. immigration courts fell from 25% in fiscal 2017 to 3% in the third quarter of fiscal 2026, a 22-percentage-point...

Law and Order

Federal Ban on Synthetic Hemp Cannabinoids Takes Effect Nov. 12

A provision excluding products containing cannabinoids that cannot be naturally produced by the cannabis plant, such as THC-O, from the federal definition...

Commerce

FCC Proposes Faster Robocall Opt-Out Rules For Businesses

Businesses that make automated calls and texts could have to honor consumers' requests to stop sooner, under Federal Communications Commission proposed...

Legislation

Commission Lets Consumers Revoke Consent For Some Robocalls

The Federal Communications Commission will let consumers revoke consent for specific categories of robocalls while keeping others they want, and will make...

Law and Order

DHS Ends Automatic Work-Permit Extensions For Immigrants

The Homeland Security Department ended the automatic extension that kept work permits valid while renewal applications were pending, effective October 14.

Legislation

Kratom Compounds Face Federal Scheduling as DEA Prepares 7-OH Rule

Three kratom-derived compounds, mitragynine pseudoindoxyl (MP), MGM-15, and MGM-16, are now Schedule I controlled substances under federal law through Aug....

Civil Rights

Hate Crimes Rose Sharply From 2015 to 2024 as Other Crime Fell

Hate crime rates generally increased from 2015 to 2024 across both federal data sources even as non-bias-motivated crime rates were generally decreasing,...

Politics

Appeals Courts Split on Arbitration Elections and Immigration

Federal appeals courts reached conflicting conclusions on arbitration, elections, immigration and separation of powers in August, according to a new...

Law and Order

Federal Body Camera Programs Lack Updated Plans and Guidance

Neither U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) nor U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has updated its body camera program plans to reflect...

Finance

IRS Cannot Track Ghost Tax Preparers as Fraud Risks Persist

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) cannot account for how many ghost tax preparers it has identified, investigated, or addressed because its case-tracking...

Government Operations

Federal Investigators Lack Plan to Address Campus Spy Threats

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has no plan to strengthen partnerships with academic institutions to counter threats from nontraditional...

Law and Order

Airline Deregulation Act Preemption of State Law Faces Scrutiny

The Trump administration's deregulatory moves at the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) have sharpened a long-running legal question over how far the...

Politics

DHS Is Withholding Data on Noncitizen Transfers To Third Countries

The Trump administration's policy of removing noncitizens to third countries remains in effect after the Supreme Court granted review, stayed a lower-court...

Law and Order

Report Warns AI Discrimination Law Remains Unsettled Amid Rollbacks

Federal anti-discrimination law leaves significant questions about algorithm-based decisions unresolved, creating uncertainty for employers, creditors,...

Law and Order

Courts Split Over Congressional Privilege in Federal Searches

Federal appeals courts remain divided over whether the Speech or Debate Clause prevents the executive branch from accessing protected congressional...