Hill, The
AI could finally make congressional hearings work better (Hill, The)
Submitted by zwalker@benton.org on Mon, 03/30/2026 - 11:51Op-ed | America is dangerously unprepared for a GPS attack (Hill, The)
Submitted by zwalker@benton.org on Tue, 02/17/2026 - 15:06Supreme Court will review FCC’s fines against AT&T, Verizon
The Supreme Court agreed to decide whether the Federal Communications Commission’s authority to issue massive fines violated AT&T’s and Verizon’s constitutional right to a jury trial. It’s the latest Supreme Court case to take aim at federal agencies’ regulatory power. The case is expected to be argued near the end of this term, which would enable it to be decided by summer 2026. The FCC ordered AT&T to pay roughly $57 million. Verizon’s fine amounted to nearly $47 million.
Republicans drop Trump-ordered block on state AI laws from defense bill
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) said that a sect of Republicans is now “looking at other places” to potentially pass a federal measure that would block states from passing AI laws for a decade. Other Republicans opposed including the AI preemption in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). For months, President Trump has pressured the Republican-led Congress to block state AI laws that the president claims could bog down innovation as AI firms waste time and resources complying with a patchwork of state laws.
Google to provide Gemini AI tools to federal agencies for 47 cents (Hill, The)
Submitted by benton on Thu, 08/21/2025 - 15:36Trump 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.