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Freddy Brewster is a reporter with the Lever. He has been published in the Los Angeles Times, NBC News, CalMatters, the Lost Coast Outpost, and more.
In contracts ranging from credit cards to employment terms, arbitration agreements force consumers and workers to pursue corporate accountability via private arbitration rather than the court system. That arbitration process just got way more expensive.
Since 2020, airlines have filed more than 1,800 safety concerns over the Boeing 737 Max to federal regulators. Safety advocates assert that understaffed airline regulators have failed to acknowledge or address the problems.
Earlier this month, a gaping hole opened in the side of a Boeing airplane with hundreds of passengers on board. If Boeing had prioritized safety upgrades over lavish executive salaries and stock buybacks, this disaster might not have happened.
Despite allegations of “excessive” defects ahead of the recent Boeing disaster, the company and its parts supplier, Spirit AeroSystems, used their deep pockets to lobby Washington to reduce safety regulations.
Years of efforts by crypto interests — most prominently, Sam Bankman-Fried — to deregulate the industry have finally paid off. Last month regulators at a small federal agency allowed a cryptocurrency firm to vertically integrate, endangering customer assets.
For years, conservative billionaires have treated Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas to opulent vacations and trips on their private jets. If these were anything other than disinterested gifts, then they’re taxable — and Thomas owes the IRS a huge bill.
Big Tech is pushing back hard against federal efforts to apply copyright law to AI systems. It’s a bid to avoid protection for the human creators that ChatGPT and similar programs get their material from.
Months ago, the Biden administration issued a directive prohibiting arms transfer deals to countries that would likely use the weapons to target civilians. Yet the White House is still approving military aid for Israel’s war crimes in Gaza.
A new federal rule would make it easier for consumers to shop around at different banks to look for better interest rates. Financial institutions are fighting the agency behind it tooth and nail.
On Friday, California governor Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill that would have banned self-driving trucks from being on the road without a safety operator aboard. This move followed a six-figure lobbying effort from the autonomous vehicle industry.
Driverless taxi companies Waymo and Cruise have long track records of crashes, near misses, and interfering with emergency personnel. But after spending nearly $2 million on lobbying in California, the robotaxis have been given free rein in San Francisco.
Last September, California governor Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill that would have imposed rules and transparency on the state’s largely unregulated cryptocurrency industry. The move came after the crypto industry spent more than $400,000 on lobbying Newsom.