In a unanimous ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court held that defrauding the government to win a contract is still federal wire fraud - even if the government gets what it paid for. The case involved a Pennsylvania contractor who falsely claimed to use a disadvantaged business to meet federal diversity
In a high-stakes decision, the U.S. Supreme Court slammed the brakes on the removal of two Venezuelan nationals detained under the Alien Enemies Act (AEA), reminding the government that yes, due process still applies—even in national security cases. The detainees were handed their removal notices and told
After Ryan Anderson pled guilty to robbing stores of California Lottery Scratchers tickets and cashing in the winning ones, he was ordered to pay $179,231.65 in restitution. That included the value of the stolen tickets ($116K), the winnings he wrongfully claimed ($62K), and retailer commissions tied to those
AI can now read and reason across a million tokens at once - roughly 700,000 words. That’s five copies of War and Peace processed in one go. This is a major leap. Just over a year ago, we were stuck at 4,000 tokens. Now, AI can absorb and
After Ryan Anderson pled guilty to robbing stores of California Lottery Scratchers tickets and cashing in the winning ones, he was ordered to pay $179,231.65 in restitution. That included the value of the stolen tickets ($116K), the winnings he wrongfully claimed ($62K), and retailer commissions tied to those
In a high-profile showdown, the FTC tried and failed to stop Microsoft’s $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Despite throwing §7 of the Clayton Act into the ring, the agency couldn't convince the courts that the merger would significantly lessen competition in console, subscription, or
In a firm reminder that Family Code §3044 isn’t just a suggestion, the Third Appellate District reversed a trial court’s joint custody order, holding that courts cannot sidestep the legal presumption against awarding custody to abusers—even if both parents agree to share custody. In this case, the
The Ninth Circuit has affirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by a former University of Arizona official who claimed he was harassed and fired in retaliation for his husband’s whistleblowing about a politically charged hiring. Despite the compelling narrative—favoritism, university politics, and alleged corruption—the court found
In a significant win for accountability, the Fourth Appellate District affirmed that corporate officers—not just the company—can be personally liable under IRC §7434 for willfully filing fraudulent 1099 forms. After engineer Hovik Nazaryan settled a stock dispute with FemtoMetrix, Inc., the company’s CFO and president classified his
In a win for injured cyclists (and common sense), the California Supreme Court ruled that a liability waiver signed by Ty Whitehead before a recreational bike ride through Oakland didn’t shield the city from being sued for a head-cracking pothole. The court held that public entities can’t
The Ninth Circuit just delivered a major blow to corporate cloak-and-dagger defenses, affirming that the Pangang Companies—accused of conspiring to steal DuPont’s chloride-route titanium dioxide (TiO) technology—aren’t immune from prosecution under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) or federal common law. Despite their
In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court sided with a Coast Guard reservist and federal air traffic controller who served active duty “during” a national emergency—and held that yes, he’s owed differential pay. The federal government tried to argue that his service needed a direct link