DHS Is Partially Shut Down. Here’s Which Services Are Still Running and Which Aren’t.
Ten days in, and the DHS shutdown has stopped being theoretical. The gap between what officials predicted before February 14 and what is happening now is large enough to fuel…
Supreme Court Struck Down Trump’s Tariffs. Here’s Why the Next Ones May Survive.
On February 20, 2026, the Supreme Court handed President Trump a 6-to-3 loss that invalidated the sweeping tariffs he had imposed on nearly every country on earth. On the same…
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Your Money & Home
Businesses Paid Billions in Tariffs the Court Says Were Illegal. Here’s How Refunds Would Work.
The Supreme Court struck down the IEEPA tariffs on February 20, 2026, and said nothing about what happens to the…
The Supreme Court Just Stripped the President’s Tariff Power. Here’s What That Means.
Roughly $240 billion in tariff revenue had been collected since April 2025 from importers across the country. On February 20,…
The Tariff Ruling Eliminated Nine Percentage Points of U.S. Trade Barriers Overnight
In Learning Resources, Inc. V. Trump, six justices formed a majority opinion, and with it, nearly half of America's tariff…
Your Health & Safety
Civil Rights History in Schools: What Federal Education Standards Require
When Reverend Jesse Jackson died in February 2026, the national conversation about his legacy collided with an uncomfortable reality: most…
Inside the Grand Jury: How Citizens Block Prosecutions Prosecutors Want
In fiscal year 2013, federal grand juries approved charges in 99.993 percent of cases—196,964 indictments out of 196,969 matters presented.…
Inside the Grand Jury: The Citizens Who Check Prosecutorial Power
The jury refused to charge them. What Grand Juries Are Supposed to Do The Constitution requires that before the federal…
Your Voice & Rights
The Fourth Amendment Protections That Apply During Immigration Sweeps—For Citizens and Noncitizens Alike
The Fourth Amendment does not say "citizens." It says "the people." Courts have spent decades arguing about what that phrase…
How Jesse Jackson’s Presidential Campaigns Reshaped Voting Rights Enforcement
Jackson launched his first presidential campaign in 1983. The law existed. The federal government had tools to enforce it. What…
TSA Agents Must Work Unpaid During Shutdowns. Here’s What Labor Law Says.
This isn't some bureaucratic oversight or emergency improvisation. It's exactly what federal law allows. The legal framework permitting the government…
Your World
Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act Was Designed for Emergencies. Here’s What Congress Actually Intended.
Not during the Latin American debt crisis of the 1980s, not during the 1997 Asian financial crisis that spread across…
When Immigration Agents Can Enter Your Home Without a Warrant
More than 63,000 TSA officers are working without pay. FEMA disaster reimbursements to states face delays, including $11 billion tied…
Congress Tried to Force Warrants for Immigration Raids. Here’s Why It Failed.
Here is the part nobody explains clearly: ICE's longstanding training guidance stated that an administrative warrant "does NOT alone authorize…
The War Powers Resolution Was Supposed to Limit Presidents. It Hasn’t.
Two aircraft carrier strike groups head toward Iran. Fighter jets, aerial refueling tankers, and systems designed to shoot down incoming…
Trending Federal Guidance
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 can be confusing. This guide breaks down the different fees for obtaining or renewing your…
Understanding the Social Security Earnings Limit
You can receive Social Security retirement or survivor benefits while still employed. However, if you…
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…
Examples of US Tariffs
A tariff is a tax on imports. When foreign goods cross America's borders, U.S. Customs and Border Protection collects these…
The Future of America’s Economic Development: Navigating Key Trends
Economic development used to be simple. Count the new factories. Track the job numbers. Celebrate when unemployment dropped. Those days…
Five Shocking Supreme Court Free Speech Cases That Changed America
The boundaries of free speech aren't obvious. They've been forged through real-world conflicts that forced the Supreme Court to answer…
How to Contact the US Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice handles everything from federal crime investigations to civil rights violations. With over 117,000 employees…
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Congress Handed Presidents Tariff Power Decades Ago. The Court Just Took It Back.
Rick Woldenberg paid millions in legal fees to sue the federal government. He described his willingness to put his name on the lawsuit in blunt terms: "I didn't do anything…
Federal Workers in Shutdown Limbo: What Happens to Pay and Benefits
Approximately 260,000 Department of Homeland Security workers are either on the job without pay or sitting at home without pay. The first full missed paychecks will land in mid-March, right…
Inside the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court That Oversees Section 702
That court, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, reviews every aspect of Section 702 surveillance—the government submits its surveillance rules for approval once a year. They examine the government's targeting procedures,…
Can the NSA Search Your Messages Without a Warrant? What Section 702 Allows
This isn't a leak or a scandal. It's how Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act is designed to work. The law expires April 20, 2026—roughly eight weeks from…
Section 702 Expires April 20. What Intelligence Agencies Lose If It Lapses.
Congress faces a deadline nine weeks away. What happens if nobody blinks and the authority lapses? Intelligence officials say the U.S. would lose the single most valuable foreign intelligence collection…
Why Congress Keeps Fighting Over the Same Surveillance Law Every Few Years
The Trump administration wants Congress to renew Section 702—a surveillance law that lets intelligence agencies collect Americans' communications without a warrant—before April 20, 2026. House Speaker Mike Johnson faces pressure…
When AI Companies Reach Bank-Sized Valuations, Financial Regulators Take Notice
For comparison, America's largest bank JPMorgan Chase has a market valuation of approximately $836 billion. JPMorgan manages over $4 trillion in assets and turns a profit. OpenAI loses billions of…
The Legal Architecture That Makes Federal Agencies ‘Independent’
Congress didn't declare federal agencies "independent" and hope for the best. Over more than a century, lawmakers wrote specific rules into law—rules about firing officials, boards with overlapping terms, funding…
Trump Order Targets Independent Agencies: What the Fed, FEC, and CFPB Could Lose
On February 18, 2025, President Trump signed an order that requires agencies that Congress deliberately set up to operate independently—the Federal Reserve, the Federal Election Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection…
Why Congress Created Agencies the President Can’t Fire—And Whether That Still Holds
On February 18, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order that attempts to bring agencies that Congress set up to be independent from the president—the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the…
When the White House Blocks Your Agency’s Rule: Legal Options for Fighting Back
On February 18, 2025, President Trump signed an order that requires independent regulatory agencies—the Federal Reserve, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and others Congress…