Soldiers in combat have access to Starlink satellite internet restricted

Donald Trump has denied that his administration has cut intelligence sharing with Ukraine. Zelenskyy also indicated that the US was continuing to share intelligence with Ukraine in an interview with NPR aired on Wednesday, but confirmed that military advisers had received threats from the US that intelligence sharing could be limited… 

 SpaceX did not confirm any changes to Starlink’s functionality and it was not immediately clear why the restrictions had been put in place. Terminals travelling at more than 100mph and using a version of Starlink for the military and other national security agencies suddenly lost connectivity, said Serhiy Beskrestnov, in what appeared to be a targeted outage meant to disrupt military operations…

 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/14/ukraine-soldiers-combat-access-starlink-satellite-internet-restricted

 

Supreme court rejects Trump’s mail ballot restrictions for midterm elections

Decision allows states to send ballots under process followed for years even as president tried to limit system…

 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/14/supreme-court-rejects-mail-ballot-restrictions

 

New York Times sues Pentagon again over ‘utterly unreasonable’ press restrictions

“Now, to ask even one question, Barnes and other reporters must call or email for an appointment, wait for a response, get an escort, ask their question, and return to the library outside the Pentagon – only to repeat the process for the next source...”

 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/18/new-york-times-pentagon-press-restrictions-lawsuit

Appeals court approves sweeping abortion pill restrictions, teeing up SCOTUS showdown - POLITICO

A panel of three judges ruled unanimously in favor of arguments from Louisiana that the Biden-era regulations on the drug threaten the state’s sovereignty and the safety of pregnant women. Two of the judges were appointed by Donald Trump and the other by George W. Bush...

The temporary ruling will curtail access nationwide to a drug used in more than two-thirds of abortions.

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/05/01/appeals-court-approves-sweeping-abortion-pill-restrictions-teeing-up-scotus-showdown-00903298 

 

US judge blocks Pentagon’s restrictions on press after New York Times lawsuit

"Those who drafted the first amendment believed that the nation's security requires a free press and an informed people and that such security is endangered by governmental suppression of political speech," US district court judge Paul Friedman wrote in his opinion. "That principle has preserved the nation's security for almost 250 years. It must not be abandoned now."… 

"Especially in light of the country's recent incursion into Venezuela and its ongoing war with Iran, it is more important than ever that the public have access to information from a variety of perspectives about what its government is doing", Friedman wrote…

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/20/us-judge-blocks-pentagon-policy

 

RFK Jr. and Dr. Oz Announce RESTRICTIONS on Treatment For Children With gender dysphoria

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5B8aUGtMD4

Fluoride prescriptions to children restricted by FDA - The Washington Post

The agency concluded ingestible fluoride should be limited to children aged three years and older who are at high risk for tooth decay...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/10/31/fda-fluoride-prescription-restrictions/

The Christian right is coming for divorce next

Divorce is extremely common — more than 670,000 American couples split in 2022 alone. Any rollback to no-fault divorce would likely be politically unpopular, even in red states (some of which have higher divorce rates than the national average). 

But perhaps emboldened by their victory in overturning Roe v. Wade, social conservatives have gone after other popular targets in recent months, from birth control to IVF. The drive to increase restrictions on divorce is part of the same movement, Zug said — an effort to re-entrench "conservative family values," incentivize heterosexual marriage and childbearing, and disempower women. "They are all connected," Zug said...

https://www.vox.com/today-explained-newsletter/354635/divorce-no-fault-states-marriage-republicans

Inside the White House, a Debate Over Letting Ukraine Shoot U.S. Weapons Into Russia - The New York Times

After a sobering trip to Kyiv, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken is urging the president to lift some restrictions on how Ukraine can use American arms...

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/22/us/politics/white-house-ukraine-weapons-russia.html

Raskin presses insurers, PBMs on free contraception coverage | The Hill

In all 50 states, the Affordable Care Act guarantees coverage of women's preventive services, including free birth control and contraceptive counseling. There are 18 contraceptive methods approved by the Food and Drug Administration, but the law requires insurers to cover only one product per category. A 2023 staff report from Raskin's office found that many patients covered by five of the largest health insurers and four of the largest PBMs impose coverage exclusions and other restrictions on birth control products, contrary to the ACA…

https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/4667964-raskin-presses-insurers-pbms-on-free-contraception-coverage/

DEA plans to reclassify marijuana as a lower-risk drug, officials say - The Washington Post

The measure, if enacted, would not legalize marijuana at the federal level but still represents a milestone that could prove to be a political win for President Biden, who is campaigning for reelection and has sought to ameliorate racial and criminal justice inequities wrought by the nation's long war on drugs...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2024/04/30/marijuana-restrictions-loosen/

Slightly higher times: Biden administration moves to loosen weed restrictions - POLITICO

The Biden administration's Department of Health and Human Services is recommending that the Drug Enforcement Administration significantly loosen federal restrictions on marijuana but stopped short of advising that it should be entirely removed from the Controlled Substances Act...

https://www.politico.com/news/2023/08/30/marijuana-review-move-to-schedule-iii-00113493

Biden Administration to Impose Financial Restrictions for Chip Makers - The New York Times

Guidelines to be released Tuesday will include firm financial requirements to try to ensure that chip makers don't waste federal money...

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/27/us/politics/chips-act-biden-commerce-department.html

Jordan fires off first subpoenas against Biden admin - POLITICO

Garland and the FBI have strenuously rejected the GOP accusation — which fact checkers have also deemed false — saying their focus was on protecting school board members amid sharply escalating threats of violence, with no emphasis on parents or those raising policy concerns about Covid restrictions...

https://www.politico.com/news/2023/02/03/jim-jordan-subpoena-biden-administration-00081179

New Biden administration guidance closes ‘ghost guns’ loophole in federal rule | The Hill

"Today's open letter is another important step in implementing the crucial public safety rule regarding privately made firearms, or Ghost Guns," ATF Director Steven Dettelbach said in an ATF news release. "Ghost Guns can kill like other firearms if they are in the wrong hands, so they are treated as firearms under the law." … 

Congress passed major gun legislation in 2022 as well. In June, President Biden signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which expanded background checks for people under 21, addressed the "boyfriend loophole" with a provision barring firearm possession for at least five years for those convicted of misdemeanor violent crimes against romantic partners and included funding for mental health treatment and the administration of red flag laws…

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/3790597-new-biden-administration-guidance-closes-ghost-guns-loophole-in-federal-rule/

What China’s Covid Protesters Are Calling For - The New York Times

Protests against Covid restrictions have evolved into broader demands. Here's what videos show about what demonstrators want — and the risks...

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/11/29/world/asia/china-protests-demands.html

Opinion | Biden Just Clobbered China’s Chip Industry - The New York Times

"That's why I have been so impressed with the aggressive and creative way the Biden administration has gone about curtailing China's alarming, decades-long effort to build a domestic semiconductor industry that's independent from the rest of the world. This month, the Commerce Department announced a set of restrictions that prevent China from getting much of what it needs to establish a commanding position in the chip business. The government said the rules were meant to block "sensitive technologies with military applications" from being acquired by China's military and security services. With few exceptions, the sanctions prohibit China from buying the best American chips and the machines to build them, and even from hiring Americans to work on them. Analysts I spoke to said the rules will devastate China's domestic chip industry, potentially setting it back decades..."

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/20/opinion/biden-china-semiconductor-chip.html

Opinion | The hidden agendas behind the Alito draft abortion ruling - The Washington Post

…Under Alito's draft, abortion restrictions must only have a "rational basis" to pass constitutional muster. Permissive as this is, it will still present questions: Would it be rational for a state to prioritize fetal life over the life of the mother? Does protecting the fetus take priority over serious risk to maternal health? Is it rational for a state to prohibit contraceptive methods, such as intrauterine devices or morning-after pills, which prevent implantation of a fertilized embryo? Can a state prohibit in vitro fertilization because it involves the destruction of such embryos?…

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/05/12/alito-draft-opinion-myths/

McConnell rebukes Dems for agreeing with GOP on Covid restrictions

…The evolution of the complaints is more than a little jarring: Some on the right were outraged that Democrats wanted "a permanent pandemic" in which public health officials controlled our daily lives, which gave way to new conservative outrage that Democrats don't want a permanent pandemic...

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/mcconnell-rebukes-dems-agreeing-gop-covid-restrictions-rcna16264

What you can and can’t do after getting a COVID-19 vaccine | Popular Science

...In a White House briefing earlier this week, Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Disease, said that those fully vaccinated (meaning that if the vaccine requires two shots, they would need both) can meet indoors, unmasked, with other fully vaccinated people only. Aside from that one small scenario, it's important for fully vaccinated people to still follow proper public health measures, especially wearing masks and social distancing, until the country reaches herd immunity...

https://www.popsci.com/story/health/covid-19-vaccine-efficacy/