Why Congress Bundles Spending Bills—And What Happens When They Split
Two Americans are dead, shot by federal agents in Minneapolis. Senate Democrats now say they won't fund the Department of Homeland Security unless body cameras, mask prohibitions, and independent shooting…
Brady v. Maryland Requires Prosecutors to Investigate Police Misconduct. Here’s Why.
Most people outside the criminal justice system have never heard of a 1963 Supreme Court case called Brady v. Maryland. Brady creates personal legal responsibilities that prosecutors can't escape—obligations that…
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An Independent Team to Decode Government
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Your Money & Home
FTC Antitrust Review of Tech M&A: What Triggers Scrutiny of AI Acquisitions
Meta reports earnings on January 28, 2026, with Wall Street braced for a number that has nothing to do with…
Geofence Warrants: How Police Use Your Phone’s Location to Solve Crimes
If police want to know who was near a crime scene, they can ask Google for a list of every…
The Supreme Court Case That Shaped Digital Privacy—And What’s Changed Since
In 2018, the Supreme Court ruled that police need a warrant to track your movements through your cell phone records.…
Your Health & Safety
If the Court Bans Geofence Warrants, Police Lose a Major Investigative Tool
The Supreme Court will decide whether police can collect location data from everyone in a neighborhood to solve crimes. On…
Federal Preemption: When National Regulation Shields Companies from Lawsuits
John Durnell spent years spraying Roundup without protective gear because he trusted the EPA-approved label that said it was safe.…
Tens of Thousands of Roundup Lawsuits Hinge on This Supreme Court Decision
A Missouri man named John Durnell developed cancer after years of spraying Roundup in his garden. On January 16, 2026,…
Your Voice & Rights
Can Federal Agents Conduct Stops Without Reasonable Suspicion? It Depends.
Federal agents deployed to Minneapolis have shot and killed two U.S. citizens. Can federal immigration officers stop and detain people…
Voter Registration Data: What’s Public, What’s Protected, and Who Decides
On January 25, 2026, Attorney General Pam Bondi sent a letter to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz demanding the state's voter…
Linking Voter Data to Immigration Enforcement: The Election Interference Question
Attorney General Pam Bondi sent a letter to Minnesota's Democratic governor on the same day federal Border Patrol agents shot…
Your World
Federal Judges Can Limit Immigration Enforcement—But Rarely Do. Here’s Why.
On a Monday morning in Minneapolis, U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez asked a question that most federal judges never have…
When Courts Block Immigration Enforcement: The Preliminary Injunction Process
These court orders work like emergency brakes on the legal system. When a judge issues a preliminary injunction, they're essentially…
The $220 Billion Climate Damage Bill: Which Federal Programs Pay
That's not a projection or an estimate adjusted for future claims. It's what happened: 23 separate billion-dollar weather disasters, 276…
When Federal Agents Outnumber Local Police: Legal and Practical Consequences
In mid-January 2026, the Trump administration deployed roughly 3,000 federal immigration agents to Minneapolis—a city with about 600 police officers…
Trending Federal Guidance
Understanding the Social Security Earnings Limit
You can receive Social Security retirement or survivor benefits while still employed. However, if you begin receiving benefits before reaching your Full Retirement Age (FRA), specific rules limit how much…
Understanding Your Passport Costs: A Clear Guide to Fees
Getting a U.S. passport is your ticket to international travel, but understanding the associated costs…
USPS Package Size Limits
Whether you're shipping products nationwide as a small business owner or sending gifts to loved…
Step-by-Step Guide for Applying for Social Security Benefits
Navigating Social Security benefits doesn't have to be complicated. This guide breaks down the application…
USPS Media Mail Rules and Restrictions
Media Mail is an economy shipping service provided by the USPS specifically for sending media…
Other Top Federal Guidance
Exempt vs. Non-Exempt Employees: Understanding Your Rights Under the FLSA
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is the cornerstone of federal wage and hour law in the United States. Enacted…
CDC Resources for Diabetes and Heart Disease
Every 33 seconds, someone in America dies from cardiovascular disease. Every 40 seconds, someone has a heart attack. Meanwhile, 98…
How the FDA Controls Tobacco
On June 22, 2009, everything changed for tobacco in America. President Barack Obama signed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco…
A Guide to Understanding BEA’s Regional Economic Data
Your hometown's economy tells a unique story. Maybe it's booming with tech startups and rising home values. Maybe it's struggling…
How to Search for Patents
That idea brewing in your mind could be worth millions—or it could already belong to someone else. Before you spend…
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The Tenth Amendment Limit on Federal Operations Inside States
A question that rarely gets tested in federal court with this kind of urgency is being examined in Minneapolis: Can the federal government flood a state with thousands of armed…
The Constitutional Limits on Federal Coercion of State Cooperation
On January 25, 2026, Attorney General Pam Bondi sent Governor Tim Walz a letter demanding Minnesota's complete voter registration database, Medicaid records, and food assistance program data. The offer: hand…
How Executive Orders Work—And When Courts Can Strike Them Down
In January 2025, Donald Trump signed 225 executive orders in his first year—the highest first-year count since Franklin Roosevelt's emergency response to the Great Depression. Within weeks, federal courts started…
225 Executive Orders in One Year: What Federal Workers Face Under Mass Restructuring
On January 20, 2025, Donald Trump signed 26 executive orders in a single day—a record. By the end of his first year back in office, he'd signed 225. That's more…
Why FDR Issued More Executive Orders Than Any Modern President
Franklin D. Roosevelt issued executive orders during his presidency—the most commonly cited figure is 3,721, though some authoritative sources list 3,726. The variation in these figures reflects different counting methodologies…
Can Federal Employees Challenge Politically-Motivated Hiring Rules?
Trump's White House has eliminated more than 300,000 federal positions in its first year through a combination of hiring freezes, mandatory return-to-office orders, and outright job cuts. The White House…
Where Political Speech Ends and Criminal Obstruction Begins
Federal prosecutors are reportedly investigating Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey for obstruction of justice. The Justice Department has not publicly confirmed the investigation; it was reported…
The DOJ Has Investigated Governors Before. Here’s What Happened.
The Justice Department's investigation into Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has sparked a question: Has the DOJ done this before? Federal prosecutors have investigated plenty of…
Inside DOJ’s Process for Opening Criminal Investigations of Public Officials
In mid-January 2026, the Department of Justice opened criminal investigations into Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey for making public statements criticizing federal immigration enforcement operations. The…
Why the Federal Reserve Was Designed to Resist Presidential Pressure
The Department of Justice opened a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell in January 2026. No previous sitting president has taken this step against a Fed chair. The…
How EPA Decides a Chemical Is Safe—And Why Courts Sometimes Disagree
In 2018, a jury awarded Dewayne Johnson, a former groundskeeper with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (a type of blood cancer), $289 million—later reduced to $20.4 million. In California, juries awarded the Pilliod…