Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) conducted simultaneous raids on Sean Combs’ properties in Los Angeles, New York, and Miami as part of a comprehensive federal sex trafficking investigation. Federal prosecutors unveiled a three-count indictment alleging a decade-long criminal enterprise …
Department of Homeland SecuritySean CombsFederal ProsecutorsU.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New Yorkhomeland-securitysex-traffickingfederal-investigationracketeeringcriminal-enterprise+2 more
The Department of Justice, joined by 16 state attorneys general, filed a comprehensive antitrust lawsuit against Apple alleging the company illegally monopolizes smartphone markets through a systematic strategy of ecosystem lock-in, developer restrictions, and suppression of “super apps” …
Department of JusticeAppleTim Cook16 State Attorneys Generalantitrustappledojmonopolyregulatory-capture+4 more
Elon Musk’s xAI faced intense scrutiny after releasing Grok AI without comprehensive safety documentation, including generating antisemitic content and pulling opinions directly from Musk’s social media posts. Despite these controversies, xAI secured a $200 million Pentagon contract in …
Elon MuskxAIAI Safety ResearchersGSA AI Safety TeamDepartment of Defense+1 moreai-safetytech-communicationcorporate-accountabilityelection-technologygovernment-ai-contracts+1 more
The Supreme Court allowed Texas’s SB 4 immigration law to take effect pending further proceedings, before subsequent Fifth Circuit action. A 6-3 ruling temporarily permitted Texas to criminalize border crossings and allow state police to arrest and potentially deport migrants, creating a …
Supreme Court of the United StatesState of TexasBiden AdministrationJustice Samuel AlitoJustice Sonia Sotomayor+2 moreemergency-docketimmigrationstate-preemptionsupreme-courtjudicial-conflict
In a significant move to preserve institutional integrity, career diplomats and foreign service officers formalized enhanced internal resistance and preservation mechanisms in response to potential political disruptions. Building on the historical ‘dissent channel’ established in 1971, …
State DepartmentCareer DiplomatsForeign Service OfficersDepartment of State Leadershipinstitutional-resistancegovernment-integritydiplomatic-ethicsbureaucratic-resiliencestate-department-reform
John Barnett, a 32-year Boeing quality control manager and prominent whistleblower who had raised numerous safety concerns about the 787 Dreamliner, was found dead from a gunshot wound to the head in his truck in a hotel parking lot in Charleston, South Carolina. He was in Charleston for deposition …
John BarnettBoeingCharleston County CoronerCharleston Police DepartmentFederal Aviation Administration+1 moreboeingwhistleblowerjohn-barnettsuspicious-death787-dreamliner+1 more
The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designates two individuals and five entities associated with the Intellexa Consortium for developing commercial spyware used to target Americans, including US government officials, journalists, and policy experts. Key …
Treasury DepartmentOffice of Foreign Assets ControlTal Jonathan DilianSara Aleksandra Fayssal HamouIntellexa Consortium+1 moretreasury-departmentofacintellexatal-dilianspyware-sanctions+1 more
Wyoming lawmakers pass House Bill 75, reducing the coal severance tax rate from 6.5% to 6%, marking the second consecutive tax cut for coal producers in two years. In 2022, the Legislature reduced the severance tax from 7% to 6.5%, together costing the state approximately $20 million in annual …
Wyoming LegislatureMark GordonBlack Hills EnergyPowder River Basin Coal Producerswyomingcoalfossil-fuelscorporate-welfareregulatory-capture+2 more
On February 27, 2024, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Department of Justice launched a major antitrust investigation into UnitedHealth Group, focusing on whether the company’s vertical integration strategy—particularly Optum’s acquisition of physician practices—creates …
Department of JusticeUnitedHealth GroupUnitedHealthcareOptumhealthcaremedicare-advantageantitrustvertical-integrationregulatory-capture+1 more
Manhattan jury found former NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre liable for $5.4 million in damages ($4.4M after partial repayment) and the NRA organization liable for failing to properly manage nonprofit assets from 2014-2022. The six-week trial revealed LaPierre’s systematic misuse of charitable funds …
Wayne LaPierreNRAWilson "Woody" PhillipsJohn FrazerLetitia Jamescorruptionnonprofit-fraudself-dealinginstitutional-capture
While no specific FTC investigation was definitively confirmed in 2024, xAI’s Grok AI faced increasing regulatory attention from multiple agencies. The AI chatbot encountered potential regulatory challenges related to content generation practices, data privacy, and AI safety, particularly in …
Elon MuskxAIFTCIrish Data Protection CommissionAI Regulatory Bodiesai-regulationtech-oversightconsumer-protectiondata-privacyregulatory-capture
Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron issued a devastating 92-page ruling ordering Donald Trump to pay $354.9 million in disgorgement plus $98.6 million in prejudgment interest (totaling approximately $454 million), and barred Trump from serving as an officer or director of any New York …
Arthur EngoronDonald TrumpLetitia JamesDonald Trump Jr.Eric Trump+3 morefinancial fraudny attorney generaltrump organizationcivil fraud judgmentarthur engoron+1 more
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson announces the city is terminating its contract with ShotSpotter, the controversial gunshot detection technology company, bringing to an end one of the largest and longest-running deployments of acoustic surveillance in American policing. The contract will expire on …
Despite the Supreme Court striking down Biden’s broad student loan forgiveness plan in June 2023, the administration reported on February 12, 2024, that it had approved $136.6 billion in targeted student debt relief for 3.7 million borrowers through existing programs—demonstrating that …
Joe BidenMiguel Cardonastudent-debtdebt-reliefjoe-biden
Ukrainian intelligence confirmed “systemic” Russian military use of Starlink terminals since February 2024, with Russians acquiring them through third countries, demonstrating compromise of critical US space infrastructure.
Meta said political content from accounts users do not follow would be non-recommended by default on Instagram and Threads, with an opt-in setting to see such content.
MetaInstagramThreadsplatform-policyrankingmetainstagramthreads+3 more
On February 8, 2024, a jury unanimously decided in favor of climate scientist Michael Mann in his 12-year defamation battle against Rand Simberg and Mark Steyn, who had compared him to convicted child molester Jerry Sandusky in 2012 blog posts. The jury found Simberg and Steyn guilty of defamation …
Michael MannRand SimbergMark SteynCompetitive Enterprise InstituteNational Reviewclimate-denialscientist-harassmentdefamationlegal-accountabilitymichael-mann
Spotify renews Joe Rogan deal worth up to $250 million, but removes exclusivity allowing distribution on Apple, YouTube, marking shift in podcast landscape and cementing Rogan’s influence. The new multiyear deal represents a strategic pivot for Spotify, giving up podcast exclusivity in favor …
Joe RoganSpotifyThe Joe Rogan Experiencespotify-renewalpodcast-dealsrogan-contractplatform-strategycontent-distribution+1 more
In February 2024, Ukrainian military intelligence confirmed that Russian forces were systematically using Starlink satellite internet terminals on the front lines in Ukraine, acquired through complex international intermediary networks. Despite SpaceX’s claims of non-involvement, Russian …
A federal jury in Manhattan awarded E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million in damages against Donald Trump for defamatory statements he made as president in June 2019 denying her sexual assault allegation and attacking her character. The nine-person jury deliberated for less than three hours before returning …
E. Jean CarrollDonald TrumpLewis KaplanRoberta Kaplandefamatione. jean carrollcivil liabilityjury verdictdamages award
Amazon’s Ring announced it would discontinue its “Request for Assistance” (RFA) tool, which had allowed police departments and public safety agencies to request video footage from doorbell camera owners through the Neighbors app. The policy change, effective immediately, marked a …
RingAmazonringpolice-accessprivacy-protectionpolicy-changeamazon+1 more
U.S. District Judge William Young blocked JetBlue Airways’ $3.8 billion acquisition of low-cost rival Spirit Airlines on January 16, 2024, handing the Biden administration a significant victory in preserving airline competition. Judge Young ruled that the merger would harm competition and …
Department of JusticeJetBlue AirwaysSpirit AirlinesJudge William Youngantitrustdojairline-industrymerger-enforcementbiden-administration+1 more
A consortium of AI safety researchers published a comprehensive preliminary assessment of Grok AI, highlighting significant concerns about its content generation capabilities and ethical safeguards. The report identified multiple instances where the model could generate potentially harmful or …
xAIIndependent AI Safety ResearchersElon MuskSamuel MarksDan Hendrycks+1 moreai-safetytech-ethicsalgorithm-evaluationartificial-intelligenceinstitutional-capture
A door plug blew out of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282, a Boeing 737 MAX 9, at 16,000 feet during climb six minutes after takeoff from Portland, Oregon. The explosive decompression ripped the door plug from the fuselage, leaving a gaping hole in the aircraft. Miraculously, all 171 passengers and 6 crew …
Alaska AirlinesBoeingSpirit AeroSystemsFederal Aviation AdministrationNational Transportation Safety Board+1 moreboeing737-maxalaska-airlinesdoor-plugmanufacturing-defect+2 more
A staff report by House Oversight Committee Democrats, based on Mazars-produced records for
limited years and entities, found that Trump businesses received at least $7.8 million from 20
foreign governments while he was president—likely an undercount. Watchdogs report higher
estimates when …
U.S. House Committee on Oversight (Minority Staff)Donald J. Trump / Trump OrganizationCitizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW)emolumentsforeign-influencetransparency
Federal court releases approximately 900 pages of previously sealed documents from the Giuffre v. Maxwell case, revealing names of dozens of Epstein associates and new details about his network. The release includes depositions, emails, and court filings, though many documents remain heavily …
New Hampshire operates a unique business tax structure where business activity generates an estimated 39% of state revenue in 2025—the highest proportion of any U.S. state—yet 81% of registered businesses pay no Business Enterprise Tax (BET) or Business Profits Tax (BPT). This dramatic asymmetry …
New Hampshire Department of Revenue AdministrationNew Hampshire LegislatureLimited Liability Companiescorporate-taxationtax-avoidancellc-loopholesbusiness-profits-taxbusiness-enterprise-tax+2 more
Northrop Grumman spent $10.86 million on federal lobbying in 2023, employing 36 lobbyists of whom 29—a staggering 80.6 percent—had previously worked in government positions, exemplifying the revolving door between the Pentagon, Congress, and defense contractors that enables systematic corruption of …
The Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice released final 2023 Merger Guidelines on December 18, 2023, representing a major departure from the consumer welfare standard that had guided antitrust enforcement for nearly half a century. The Guidelines signaled a move from the existing …
Federal Trade CommissionDepartment of JusticeLina KhanJonathan Kanterantitrustftcdojmerger-guidelinesregulatory-reform+2 more
Following Grok’s launch by Elon Musk’s xAI in December 2023, AI ethics researchers and David Rozado’s political compass analysis reveal significant safety and bias vulnerabilities. The chatbot demonstrated potential for generating controversial and politically skewed content, with …
AI Safety ResearchersDavid RozadoxAIElon Muskai-safetytech-ethicsalgorithmic-biaspolitical-biasmachine-learning+1 more
Trump launched his third NFT collection titled ‘MugShot’ featuring digital trading cards based on his Georgia election interference mugshot, commercializing his criminal indictment. Priced at $99 each, the collection offered pieces of Trump’s actual mugshot suit for buyers …
Donald TrumpNFT INT LLCTruth Socialnfttrumpmugshotgeorgiaelection-interference+3 more
Senator J.D. Vance spoke at the Claremont Institute’s ‘Up from Conservatism’ book launch on Capitol Hill, praising a controversial essay collection that advocates for a more aggressive conservative approach. Vance emphasized the need for conservatives to ‘wield power’ …
More than 750 Washington Post journalists and staff members staged a one-day strike on December 7, 2023—the first work stoppage at the paper in nearly 50 years—to protest stalled contract negotiations, planned layoffs of 240 workers, and management’s refusal to bargain in good faith. The …
Washington Post GuildJeff BezosPatty StonesiferWashington Postmedia-capturelabor-suppressionbillionaire-controlworker-organizing
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce filed a lawsuit against the Federal Trade Commission in December 2023, alleging a lack of transparency and accountability under Chairwoman Lina Khan’s leadership. The business group alleged that the FTC had regularly avoided responding to lawful requests for public …
U.S. Chamber of CommerceFederal Trade CommissionLina KhanSuzanne Clarkantitrustftcchamber-of-commercecorporate-lobbyingregulatory-resistance+1 more
Binance Holdings Limited, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the Bank Secrecy Act, failure to register as a money transmitting business, and violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act in the largest corporate criminal penalty in …
Changpeng ZhaoBinanceDepartment of JusticeMerrick GarlandLisa Monaco+5 morecryptoregulatory-capturemoney-launderingfraudsanctions-violations+4 more
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists releases its Cyprus Confidential investigation exposing Wyoming as America’s premier secrecy jurisdiction, having overtaken Delaware for the most corporate registrations per capita. Analysis by corporate data firm OpenCorporates shows …
International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ)ConnectedSkyWyoming LegislatureOpenCorporatesTransparency Internationalwyomingtax-havenmoney-launderingllcshell-companies+5 more
On November 14, 2023, the families of two deceased Medicare Advantage beneficiaries filed a federal class action lawsuit alleging that UnitedHealth Group knowingly uses a faulty artificial intelligence algorithm with a 90% error rate to systematically deny elderly patients coverage for medically …
UnitedHealth GroupNaviHealthUnitedHealthcarehealthcaremedicare-advantageinsurance-fraudartificial-intelligencesystematic-corruption+1 more
Senate Judiciary Committee issues subpoena to Harlan Crow after he refuses to provide information about gifts to Clarence Thomas, marking escalation in corruption investigation
Tenet Media publicly launched on November 8, 2023 as a conservative media company featuring six prominent right-wing influencers: Tim Pool, Dave Rubin, Benny Johnson, Lauren Southern, Tayler Hansen, and Matt Christiansen. Founded by Lauren Chen and Liam Donovan, the company presented itself as …
Tenet MediaLauren ChenLiam DonovanTim PoolDave Rubin+4 moretenet-mediarussian-fundingpodcastsconservative-mediacovert-operation+3 more
Donald Trump took the witness stand in the New York civil fraud trial threatening his business empire, delivering combative and rambling testimony that prompted Judge Arthur Engoron to repeatedly admonish him to keep his answers short and responsive. Trump used the witness stand as a platform to …
Elon Musk’s xAI launches Grok, an AI chatbot positioned as a ‘maximum truth-seeking’ alternative to existing AI assistants. Developed in just four months, Grok was introduced to a limited audience of X Premium users in November 2023. The chatbot was designed to answer ‘spicy …
A federal jury convicts Sam Bankman-Fried on all seven criminal counts including wire fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering in what federal prosecutors describe as ‘one of the biggest financial frauds in American history.’ The conviction follows a …
Sam Bankman-FriedFTXAlameda ResearchU.S. Department of JusticeCaroline Ellison+1 morecorruptionfraudregulatory-capturetechcryptocurrency+3 more
Dataminr began providing the Los Angeles Police Department with real-time surveillance alerts about Gaza war protests just two days after Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, demonstrating the company’s ongoing role in monitoring constitutionally protected political speech despite …
DataminrLAPDTalia Janesurveillancesocial-mediaprotestsgazapalestine+3 more
Metro Emergency Communications in Utah County went live with Carbyne’s Universe platform on August 28, 2023, deploying AI-powered emergency response technology across Provo, Orem, and Lindon that provides 911 call takers with precise GPS location data, live video streaming from caller …
Metro Emergency Communications UtahCarbyneProvo UtahOrem UtahLindon Utahcarbynesurveillance-technologynext-generation-911utahartificial-intelligence+1 more
RT employees start sending millions to Tenet Media to pay American influencers including Tim Pool and Benny Johnson for pro-Russia content without disclosure, part of $10M influence operation
RT (Russia Today)Tenet MediaTim PoolBenny JohnsonDave Rubin+1 morerussian-fundingforeign-influencetenet-mediacovert-operationinfluencer-payments+1 more
The Federal Trade Commission, joined by 17 state attorneys general, filed a landmark antitrust lawsuit against Amazon alleging the company illegally maintains monopoly power in online retail through systematic anti-competitive practices. The complaint documents Amazon’s …
Federal Trade CommissionAmazonAndy Jassy17 State Attorneys Generalantitrustamazonftcmonopolyregulatory-capture+3 more
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that White House officials, the Surgeon General, CDC, and FBI ’likely coerced or significantly encouraged’ social media platforms to censor content, constituting state action in violation of the First Amendment. The court found evidence of a …
Fifth Circuit Court of AppealsWhite HouseFBICDCSurgeon General+1 morecensorshipfirst-amendmentsocial-mediagovernment-overreachjudicial-ruling
The Federal Trade Commission issues a policy statement declaring that improper patent listings in the FDA’s ‘Orange Book’ (Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations) constitute potential unfair methods of competition under Section 5 of the FTC Act or unlawful …
FTCAndrew N. FergusonFDAAmphastarMylan+2 moreintellectual-propertypharmaceutical-patentspatent-evergreeningorange-bookftc+3 more
X (formerly Twitter) reinstated U.S. political ads and emphasized recommendation priority for paid‑verified accounts—shifting political reach toward pay‑to‑play.
X (Twitter)Elon Muskplatform-policypolitical-adsalgorithmselectionsx-twitter
Former President Donald Trump voluntarily surrendered to authorities at the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta, Georgia, where he was booked, fingerprinted, and photographed in what became the first police mugshot of a U.S. president in American history. The booking photograph, showing Trump glowering at …
Donald TrumpFani Williscriminal-indictmentmugshotgeorgiaaccountability