Watchdogs
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Death penalty for free speech? SEC gag orders challenged by its ex-lawyers, First Amendment legend
Courts "repeatedly voided conditions on speech that were not nearly as sweeping, intrusive, and long-lasting," securities group tells SCOTUS. U.S. Chamber compares to death penalty for "defendants who pleaded not guilty or demanded jury trials."
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University of North Carolina vaguely 'retract[s]' threat of punishment for April Fools' Day satire
University still won't clarify whether it ever investigated student-run comedy show, or specify which "portions" of its jawboning statement it's retracting. Student newspaper editors were "browbeaten into submission," FIRE says.
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Labor Department watchdog investigating personal texts secretary's husband, father sent staffers
This is a new angle in the ongoing probe the department watchdog is conducting into Chavez-DeRemer's leadership of the agency sparked by a complaint alleging widespread misconduct.
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'Woke pseudoscience': NIH awards new funding to transgender mice experiments after DOGE cutoff
Funding for UC San Diego study had been reinstated under court order last summer, but budget period ended and NIH was under no legal obligation to issue new award, anti-animal testing watchdog says. FOIA lawsuit filed.
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Trump's science agencies find animal-rights allies amid media attacks, but one remains dogged foe
Long-awaited FDA guidance on "new approach methodologies" for drug development and $150 million NIH commitment draw cheers from RFK Jr. fans at PETA, skepticism from architect of anti-Fauci campaign.
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'Patently absurd': School district demands $1.2M to see contracts before voters consider budget
The taxpayer who asked for the information will have to pay over $440,000 up front just for the district to start compiling it.
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Inspector General confirms whistleblower complaint against Tulsi Gabbard ‘did not appear credible’
The watchdog also provides new details about the subject of the complaint against Gabbard, which alleged she restricted the distribution of an intelligence report for political reasons.
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'Biological incident' at federal pathogen lab shines light on continuing risks in Trump era
Feds confirm a researcher's potential exposure to "Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever through an accidental breach of personal protective equipment." NIH director under pressure from lawmakers to "stop this batty research."
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CDC 'misled the public' with study implying COVID vaccines save healthy kids, UCLA expert warns
Phrasing is "anything but objective," former Journal of the American Medical Association deputy editor says. Harvard-led research finds no unvaccinated kids died from COVID in Spain for at least 19 months at height of global spread.
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Judicial Watch sues 'tarnished' Secret Service for records on how Code Pink crashed Trump dinner
Secret Service and FBI have a poor track record with Trump's safety since he was a candidate, watchdog says.
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Navy infecting 'at-risk' monkeys with lethal pathogens after CDC ordered to stop: watchdog
"The Navy lab spent another $200,000 to buy more monkeys as recently as August 2025," months before RFK Jr. reportedly authorized deputy to end CDC monkey research, White Coat Waste Project investigation finds.
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Youth gender medicine report commissioned by HHS still finds harm after peer review, names authors
Final version, written mostly by "liberals," makes small changes and answers critics including American Psychiatric Association. "It is fair to say that their work has withstood scrutiny," Washington Post editorial board says.
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The cost of transparency: District demands six figures to provide anti-Kirk teacher's curriculum
Rhode Island school district acted quickly to get Benjamin Fillo out of the classroom, investigate his social media conduct, but blames technical limitations and legal obligations for $116,000 cost estimate to parent-activist.