The Department of Justice today asked the Supreme Court to block a ruling that requires DOGE to provide information about its government cost-cutting operations as part of court-ordered discovery.

President Trump's Justice Department sought an immediate halt to orders issued by US District Court for the District of Columbia. US Solicitor General John Sauer argued that the Department of Government Efficiency is exempt from the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) as a presidential advisory body and not an official "agency."

The district court "ordered USDS [US Doge Service] to submit to sweeping, intrusive discovery just to determine if USDS is subject to FOIA in the first place," Sauer wrote. "That order turns FOIA on its head, effectively giving respondent a win on the merits of its FOIA suit under the guise of figuring out whether FOIA even applies. And that order clearly violates the separation of powers, subjecting a presidential advisory body to intrusive discovery and threatening the confidentiality and candor of its advice, putatively to address a legal question that never should have necessitated discovery in this case at all."

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Verizon petitioned the Trump administration to let it lock phones to its network for longer periods of time, making it harder for customers to switch to other carriers.

There are two rules that require Verizon to unlock phones more quickly than other major carriers. Verizon agreed to both rules and gained significant benefits in return—first in 2008 when it purchased licenses to use 700 MHz spectrum that came with open access requirements and in 2021 when it agreed to merger conditions in order to obtain approval for its purchase of TracFone.

The Biden-era Federal Communications Commission last year proposed a 60-day unlocking requirement that would apply to all wireless providers, which would have made AT&T and T-Mobile follow the same unlocking timeframe as Verizon. But now that the FCC is chaired by Republican Brendan Carr, it's looking to eliminate telecom regulations instead of making them stricter. Verizon sees this as an opening to seek an end to its unlocking obligations.

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Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr celebrated an FCC court loss yesterday after a ruling that struck down Biden-era diversity reporting requirements that Carr voted against while Democrats were in charge.

"An appellate court just struck down the Biden FCC's 2024 decision to force broadcasters to post race and gender scorecards," Carr wrote. "As I said in my dissent back then, the FCC's 2024 decision was an unlawful effort to pressure businesses into discriminating based on race & gender."

The FCC mandate was challenged in court by National Religious Broadcasters, a group for Christian TV and radio broadcasters and the American Family Association. They sued in the conservative-leaning US Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, where a three-judge panel yesterday ruled unanimously against the FCC.

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It's shaping up to be a big year for telecom mergers, and it appears the Federal Communications Commission is eager to approve the deals—as long as companies involved drop any DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) policies criticized by FCC Chairman Brendan Carr. Verizon just got a big merger approved, and cable giant Charter is seeking permission to buy Cox.

The FCC on Friday announced approval of Verizon's purchase of Frontier, one day after Verizon committed to end DEI policies in a filing with the commission. Carr previously sent letters to Verizon and other companies alleging that their diversity policies are "invidious forms of discrimination" that violate federal law and threatened to block mergers pursued by firms that enforce such policies.

"Verizon has now agreed to end its DEI policies as specified in a new FCC filing," Carr wrote in a post on X. "These changes are effective immediately. A good step forward for equal opportunity, nondiscrimination, and the public interest."

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A plaintiff's law firms were sanctioned and ordered to pay $31,100 after submitting fake AI citations that nearly ended up in a court ruling. Michael Wilner, a retired US magistrate judge serving as special master in US District Court for the Central District of California, admitted that he initially thought the citations were real and "almost" put them into an order.

These aren't the first lawyers caught submitting briefs with fake citations generated by AI. In some cases, opposing attorneys figure out what happened and notify the judge. In this instance, the judge noticed that some citations were unverifiable but was troubled by how close he came to including the bogus citations in an order.

"Directly put, Plaintiff's use of AI affirmatively misled me," Judge Wilner wrote in a May 5 order. "I read their brief, was persuaded (or at least intrigued) by the authorities that they cited, and looked up the decisions to learn more about them—only to find that they didn't exist. That's scary. It almost led to the scarier outcome (from my perspective) of including those bogus materials in a judicial order. Strong deterrence is needed to make sure that attorneys don't succumb to this easy shortcut."

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Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr has threatened to revoke EchoStar licenses for radio frequency bands coveted by rival firms including SpaceX, which alleges that EchoStar is underutilizing the spectrum.

"I have directed agency staff to begin a review of EchoStar's compliance with its federal obligations to provide 5G service throughout the United States per the terms of its federal spectrum licenses," Carr wrote in a May 9 letter to EchoStar Chairman Charles Ergen. EchoStar and its affiliates "hold a large number of FCC spectrum licenses that cover a significant amount of spectrum," the letter said.

Ergen defended his company's wireless deployment but informed investors that EchoStar "cannot predict with any degree of certainty the outcome" of the FCC proceedings. The letter from Carr and Ergen's statement is included in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing submitted by EchoStar today. EchoStar's stock price was down about 8 percent in trading today.

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A Republican member of the Federal Communications Commission is proposing a DOGE-style overhaul of the agency's operations, including large cuts to the Universal Service Fund that subsidizes broadband deployment and access.

FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington said the fund should reduce spending on fiber networks and give money to Starlink—helping Elon Musk, the man in charge of President Trump's DOGE initiative. Simington also argued that the FCC is using too many staff hours on reviewing license applications and should instead use automated systems to approve most license requests.

In a Daily Caller op-ed titled, "It's Time For Trump To DOGE The FCC," Simington and his chief of staff, Gavin Wax, wrote that "President Trump's vision for restoring constitutional government is finally taking shape, and nowhere is that more urgently needed than at the Federal Communications Commission."

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The US and China agreed to lower tariffs by 115 percent for 90 days while they continue talks on a longer-term agreement, sending stocks soaring on hopes that President Trump's trade war won't be as damaging to the two economies as previously feared.

"As part of a deal hammered out in Geneva over the weekend, the US will lower additional tariffs on Chinese goods to 30 percent from 145 percent and China will reduce duties on US imports to 10 percent from 125 percent. China said it would also 'suspend or cancel' non-tariff measures taken against the US," the Financial Times wrote.

Trump recently appeared eager to make a deal, while China seemed content to wait for better terms. The White House today called the temporary deal "a historic trade win for the United States" that "demonstrat[es] President Trump's unparalleled expertise in securing deals that benefit the American people."

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President Donald Trump said he is killing a broadband grant program that was authorized by Congress, claiming that the Digital Equity Act of 2021 is racist and unconstitutional.

"I have spoken with my wonderful Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick, and we agree that the Biden/Harris so-called 'Digital Equity Act' is totally UNCONSTITUTIONAL. No more woke handouts based on race! The Digital Equity Program is a RACIST and ILLEGAL $2.5 BILLION DOLLAR giveaway. I am ending this IMMEDIATELY, and saving Taxpayers BILLIONS OF DOLLARS!" Trump wrote in a Truth Social post yesterday.

The Digital Equity Act provided $2.75 billion for three grant programs. As a National Telecommunications and Information Administration webpage says, the grants "aim to ensure that all people and communities have the skills, technology, and capacity needed to reap the full benefits of our digital economy."

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The US Senate today voted along party lines to kill a Federal Communications Commission program to distribute Wi-Fi hotspots to schoolchildren, with Democrats saying the Republican-led vote will make it harder for kids without reliable Internet access to complete their homework.

The Senate approved a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to nullify the hotspot rule, which was issued by the Federal Communications Commission in July 2024 under then-Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. The program would be eliminated if the House version passes and President Trump signs the joint resolution of disapproval.

Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) announced the plan in January, saying the FCC program would "imped[e] parents' ability to decide what their kids see by subsidizing unsupervised access to inappropriate content." He also alleged that the hotspot program would shift control of Internet access from parents to schools and thus "heightens the risk of censoring kids' exposure to conservative viewpoints."

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Starlink last week announced a new deal for its standard hardware kit, giving the satellite dish and Wi-Fi router for free to customers who sign up for a 12-month commitment.

The deal is reminiscent of the hardware rental agreements long used by cable companies, but Starlink's offer has generated a bit of excitement. Some analysts suggested that the free kits are a reason for the federal government's $42 billion broadband deployment fund to send grants to Starlink instead of to fiber-to-the-home providers, or that the government should buy Starlink kits at the regular price of $349 each so that Elon Musk's company doesn't have to eat the cost.

You may not be surprised to learn that the free hardware kit isn't really free. But much of the discussion around the offer has ignored the fine details that could make a reasonable Starlink buyer decide to reject the deal. Similarly, policymakers deciding which ISPs should get government money might be wise to remember that fiber provides superior and more future-proof Internet service and that Starlink's offers to customers could change at any time.

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President Donald Trump is demanding the release of Tina Peters, a former election official who parroted Trump's 2020 election conspiracy theories and is serving nine years in prison for compromising the security of election equipment.

In a post on Truth Social last night, Trump wrote that "Radical Left Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser ignores Illegals committing Violent Crimes like Rape and Murder in his State and, instead, jailed Tina Peters, a 69-year-old Gold Star mother who worked to expose and document Democrat Election Fraud. Tina is an innocent Political Prisoner being horribly and unjustly punished in the form of Cruel and Unusual Punishment."

Trump said he is "directing the Department of Justice to take all necessary action to help secure the release of this 'hostage' being held in a Colorado prison by the Democrats, for political reasons."

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A messaging service used by former National Security Advisor Mike Waltz has temporarily shut down while the company investigates an apparent hack. The messaging app is used to access and archive Signal messages but is not made by Signal itself.

404 Media reported yesterday that a hacker stole data "from TeleMessage, an obscure Israeli company that sells modified versions of Signal and other messaging apps to the US government to archive messages." 404 Media interviewed the hacker and reported that the data stolen "contains the contents of some direct messages and group chats sent using [TeleMessage's] Signal clone, as well as modified versions of WhatsApp, Telegram, and WeChat."

TeleMessage is based in Israel and was acquired in February 2024 by Smarsh, a company headquartered in Portland, Oregon. Smarsh provided a statement to Ars today saying it has temporarily shut down all TeleMessage services.

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The Trump administration filed an emergency application on Friday asking the Supreme Court to restore DOGE's access to Social Security Administration records. A lower-court order that prohibited DOGE's access is causing "irreparable harm to the executive branch" and thwarting DOGE's attempts to "eliminate waste and fraud," US Solicitor General John Sauer wrote in the appeal.

"The government cannot eliminate waste and fraud if district courts bar the very agency personnel with expertise and the designated mission of curtailing such waste and fraud from performing their jobs," Sauer told the Supreme Court. The preliminary injunction that is currently in place halted "the Executive Branch's critically important efforts to improve its information-technology infrastructure and eliminate waste," the brief said.

The appeal was lodged in a case filed by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees; the Alliance for Retired Americans; and American Federation of Teachers. Chief Justice John Roberts asked them to file a response to the US by May 12.

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Tesla today denied a report that its board contacted executive search firms to find a replacement for CEO Elon Musk. The Wall Street Journal reported last night that about a month ago, "Tesla's board got serious about looking for Musk's successor" and that board "members reached out to several executive search firms to work on a formal process for finding Tesla's next chief executive."

Tesla's official X account then posted a statement attributed to board chairperson Robyn Denholm saying that "there was a media report erroneously claiming that the Tesla Board had contacted recruitment firms to initiate a CEO search at the company."

"This is absolutely false (and this was communicated to the media before the report was published). The CEO of Tesla is Elon Musk and the Board is highly confident in his ability to continue executing on the exciting growth plan ahead," Denholm's statement said.

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CBS owner Paramount is reportedly nearing a settlement with President Donald Trump over his claim that 60 Minutes "deceptively manipulated" a pre-election interview with Kamala Harris.

Trump's complaint, filed against Paramount and CBS in a federal court in Texas, seeks at least $20 billion in damages. The lawsuit has been widely described as frivolous, but it appears that Paramount is motivated to settle the case while it seeks the Trump administration's approval for a merger with Skydance.

Reports published yesterday by the Los Angeles Times and New York Times say that Paramount is ready to settle. "In an April 18 meeting, the Paramount board outlined acceptable financial terms for a potential settlement with the president, according to three people with knowledge of the internal discussions," the NYT wrote. "The exact dollar amounts remain unclear, but the board's move clears a path for an out-of-court resolution."

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The Federal Communications Commission is urging two federal appeals courts to disregard a 5th Circuit ruling that guts the agency's ability to issue financial penalties.

On April 17, the US Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit granted an AT&T request to wipe out a $57 million fine for selling customer location data without consent. The conservative 5th Circuit court said the FCC "acted as prosecutor, jury, and judge," violating AT&T's Seventh Amendment right to a jury trial.

The ruling wasn't a major surprise. The 5th Circuit said it was guided by the Supreme Court's June 2024 ruling in Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy, which held that "when the SEC seeks civil penalties against a defendant for securities fraud, the Seventh Amendment entitles the defendant to a jury trial." After the Supreme Court's Jarkesy ruling, FCC Republican Nathan Simington vowed to vote against any fine imposed by the commission until its legal powers are clear.

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Elon Musk's companies could avoid over $2.3 billion in potential fines and other liabilities thanks to Musk's unusual government position as the head of DOGE, said a memo yesterday from the Democratic staff of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. The estimate is said to include potential liability from federal investigations, litigation, and other regulatory actions.

"Since his appointment, Mr. Musk has taken a chainsaw to the federal government with no apparent regard for the law or for the people who depend on the programs and agencies he so blithely destroys... Mr. Musk's position may allow him to evade oversight, derail investigations, and make litigation disappear whenever he so chooses—on his terms and at his command," the 44-page memo said.

The subcommittee's investigation found that as of January 20, "Musk and his companies were subject to at least 65 actual or potential actions by 11 different federal agencies." The memo said the subcommittee "was able to estimate potential financial liabilities for 40 of the 65 actions by eight federal agencies," resulting in the $2.37 billion total.

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A lawyer representing MyPillow and its CEO Mike Lindell in a defamation case admitted using artificial intelligence in a brief that has nearly 30 defective citations, including misquotes and citations to fictional cases, a federal judge said.

"[T]he Court identified nearly thirty defective citations in the Opposition. These defects include but are not limited to misquotes of cited cases; misrepresentations of principles of law associated with cited cases, including discussions of legal principles that simply do not appear within such decisions; misstatements regarding whether case law originated from a binding authority such as the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit; misattributions of case law to this District; and most egregiously, citation of cases that do not exist," US District Judge Nina Wang wrote in an order to show cause Wednesday.

Wang ordered attorneys Christopher Kachouroff and Jennifer DeMaster to show cause as to why the court should not sanction the defendants, law firm, and individual attorneys. Kachouroff and DeMaster also have to explain why they should not be referred to disciplinary proceedings for violations of the rules of professional conduct.

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Router maker TP-Link is facing a criminal antitrust investigation into whether it engaged in predatory pricing, Bloomberg reported yesterday. TP-Link was already facing government scrutiny over its ties to China.

"The US is conducting a criminal antitrust investigation into pricing strategies by TP-Link Systems Inc., a California-based router maker with links to China whose equipment now dominates the American market, according to people familiar with the matter," Bloomberg wrote. "Beyond pricing, a focus of the inquiry is also whether the company's growing US market share represents a threat to national security... The scrutiny began in late 2024 under the Biden administration and has continued under President Donald Trump."

Justice Department prosecutors are investigating whether TP-Link engaged in a predatory pricing scheme that "involves selling goods below cost in order to gain market share before raising prices once competitors have either been hobbled or eliminated," the report said.

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