A federal judge restricted Biden administration officials and agencies from communicating with social media companies on content moderation in a preliminary injunction Tuesday.
Why it matters: The decision in an ongoing lawsuit from Republican attorneys general in Louisiana and Missouri, who allege the Biden administration's efforts to encourage social media companies to crack down on COVID disinformation and other matters is "sprawling federal 'Censorship Enterprise,'" could have major First Amendment implications.
Even seasoned travelers can be riddled with anxiety about getting through airport security — especially during peak travel times, like this holiday weekend.
The big picture: Rules about liquids, laptops and shoes can seem outdated and arbitrarily enforced. People who pay for an exemption from those rules don't always feel they're getting their money's worth. And new technology designed to streamline the process may be slowing it down, at least for now.
Digital World Acquisition Corp., the special purpose acquisition company that inked a deal to acquire former President Trump's media and tech company, said on Monday that it has struck a tentative settlement with securities regulators.
Why it matters: The SEC's probe into the merger, which would result in Trump's Truth Social becoming a publicly traded company, has delayed the deal considerably. It has until Sept. 8 to close, or the parties can walk away.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) asked President Biden Monday to declare a major disaster in response to February's toxic train derailment in East Palestine that led to the release of hazardous chemicals from several rail cars.
The big picture: Officials are still responding to the fallout from the disaster that saw nearby residents raise health concerns from the controlled release amid reports that some had been diagnosed with conditions including chemical bronchitis.
The U.S. ambassador to Russia met with detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in Moscow on Monday, the State Department said.
Driving the news: Lynne Tracy's second-only prison meeting with the journalist comes after U.S. officials repeatedly requested to visit Gershkovich, who is the first American journalist to be detained in an espionage case since the Cold War, per the Wall Street Journal. U.S. officials say Gershkovich is being "wrongfully detained."
Gloom-and-doom pessimists who predicted 2023 would be a year of economic misery have been wrong (at least as the second half gets underway). Those who predicted a gradual rebalancing with limited pain have been right.
Why it matters: Things could obviously go wrong in any number of ways from here, but so far the immaculate disinflation — what had seemed a remote scenario in which inflation comes down without a recession — has materialized.
Thousands of hotel workers in Southern California walked off the job Sunday in what the Unite Here Local 11 union is calling the "largest" strike in the industry in U.S history.
Driving the news: Members of the union last month voted 96% in favor of strike action during the extended Fourth of July holiday weekend to demand higher pay and better benefits.
