Brett Kavanaugh

Last month, Gizmodo got an email from WastewaterSCAN, a company that monitors sewage for traces of infectious disease. The outfit had a pitch for us: February 12th is “National Poop Day,” the company said. Would we like to talk to an expert for our Poop Day coverage?Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra: 3 Things We Love and HateHere’s the problem: today is February 12th, but it’s not National Poop Day, and I’ll tell you why: it’s because that is not a real thing. Enough is enough. Corporate America would have you believe that every…

This story was originally published by Grist. Sign up for Grist’s weekly newsletter here.Teenage Cybercrime Gang LAPSUS$ Strikes AgainNearly two dozen lawsuits filed by cities and states aim to put fossil fuel companies on trial for deceiving the public about climate change. But they’ve been stuck in legal limbo for half a decade, with companies deploying several maneuvers to block them. Now a surprising source has unleashed those lawsuits: the conservative-dominated Supreme Court.On Monday, the justices rejected…

The MOL Maneuver container ship sails into port under the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in the lower bay of New York Harbor on March 25, 2021, in New York City.Gary Hershorn | Corbis News | Getty ImagesThe Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that New Jersey can unilaterally withdraw from the longstanding Waterfront Commission Compact it has with New York to police corruption in the shipping industry in the major port the two states share.All nine of the Supreme Court's justices voted in favor of the ruling, which dismissed arguments…

The future of online expression, as it’s currently understood, could come down to five hours of oral arguments held in the Supreme Court’s chambers this week. Justices heard from lawyers both attacking and defending Big Tech’s strongest legal shield: Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.Read more... The future of online expression, as it’s currently understood, could come down to five hours of oral arguments held in the Supreme Court’s chambers this week. Justices heard from lawyers both attacking and…

Photo: Drew Angerer (Getty Images)Supreme Court justices whipped out their dictionaries and a deep bucket of metaphors Wednesday in a cumbersome attempt to understand whether or not social media companies can be held legally liable for promoting ISIS videos under anti-terrorism laws. Stolen jewelry, banks, imaginary burglars, and a young Osama bin Laden were all invoked in a testy two-hour oral argument.The historic hearing came just one day after justices heard arguments for and against removing liability protections for…

Photo: Chip Somodevilla (Getty Images)U.S. Supreme Court justices may be many things, but they definitely aren’t social media experts. The justices roasted themselves during oral arguments Tuesday of a case against Google that could determine the fate of nearly all speech online. Tech companies and advocates fear a ruling against Google could fundamentally alter the way the internet works and lead to a “horror show” of offensive, unhelpful content. Justices listening to the arguments were very, very confused.“​​We really…

Screenshot: GizmodoLate Friday night, journalist Matt Taibbi released “The Twitter Files,” a batch of emails sent by Twitter executives discussing the company’s decision to stop an October 2020 New York Post story in its online tracks.What is in the Twitter Files? Are they truly “bombshell” documents, as the New York Post and Fox News call them? Or are they “not really the smoking gun,” as a Post columnist admitted? Read on.How did this all get started?In October 2020, three weeks before the 2020 U.S. presidential…

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a landmark case concerning the Clean Water Act on Monday. And the justices, even many from the conservative majority—who have been widely expected to rule in favor of much narrower water protections—asked a lot of questions that signaled the case might not be as settled as assumed.Sackett v. EPA is, on paper, about whether or not the federal government can penalize an Idaho couple for building a house on their own land without a permit. But in actuality, it’s about whether the…