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Trump Organization announces new ‘Trump Mobile’ phone service

The Trump Organization announced it is launching a new mobile phone business: Trump Mobile. It’s the latest new business the Trump Organization is getting into during President Trump’s second term in the White House, a dynamic that has raised various ethical concerns from his critics. Donald Trump Jr., the president’s oldest son, announced the new initiative along with his brother Eric Trump, on the 10th anniversary of their father’s first announcing he was running for president, from Trump Tower in New York City. Trump Jr.

Judge declines to block Trump’s Corporation for Public Broadcasting board firings

U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss in Washington (DC) rejected a request for a preliminary injunction filed by three board members of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting—Laura Ross, Diane Kaplan, and Thomas Rothman—who sued the Trump administration after receiving termination notices via email on April 28.

We’re trading centuries of Internet access for one more mile of fiber

Imagine being told that your state government has the funds to give your family an affordable high-speed Internet connection—not just this year, but every year for the next two centuries. Now, imagine that same government decides instead to run a fiber optic cable to a single house at the end of a long rural road. This is not a thought experiment. It’s the real tradeoff now playing out across the country under the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program.

Trump is right: The administrative state needs a reset

The federal courts have spoken, and the message is clear: the days of unaccountable bureaucratic enforcement are numbered. On April 17, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the Federal Communications Commission’s forfeiture order against a broadcaster, signaling urgent need for internal reform.

Social Security requiring in-office visits for millions of recipients, applicants

The Social Security Administration said it will no longer allow individuals to verify their identity over the phone but instead require online authentication or in-person visits for those seeking benefit claims and direct deposit changes. Changes are set to go into full effect March 31, impacting more than 72 million Americans who rely on the platform amid a slew of planned office closures across the country. The Department of Government Efficiency’s website says it plans to shut down at least 47 Social Securit

Musk faces early test of political power with online safety bill

Elon Musk’s eleventh-hour support for a child online safety bill is creating an early test of the tech billionaire and Trump ally’s influence on Capitol Hill. Musk called for the passage of the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA)—a polarizing bipartisan bill intended to create more protection for minors online—after his social media platform, X, worked on changes with the bill’s Senate sponsors. Advocates for KOSA

White House outlines priorities for last 42 days

White House chief of staff Jeff Zients outlined the priorities for President Biden’s final days in office. Zients said to expect, as part of Biden’s investing in America agenda, more action on high-speed internet funds to states, CHIPS and Science Act incentives funding and Inflation Reduction Act funding.

5 things to know about Trump’s FCC pick

President-elect Trump has tapped Federal Communications Commissioner Brendan Carr to be the next chair of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), teeing the agency up for a likely clash with Big Tech and media companies he has accused of “censoring” conservative views.  Here’s what to know about Carr: