Citizens United 2.0
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on a GOP-led case that could repeal campaign finance limits on how much money parties can redirect to individual candidates. Here are the standout moments.
53 Article(s) by: Veronica Riccobene
Veronica Riccobene is a reporter with the Lever based in Washington, DC. She has experience in live television, long form, and vertical video as well as reporting.
The Data Center Boom Could Trigger Blackouts
The country’s largest electrical grid operator, PJM Interconnection, plans to power new data centers that it knows it doesn’t have the capacity for — prompting an energy watchdog to warn of heightened blackout risks.
The GOP Wants to Eliminate More Election Spending Limits
Co-filed by then-senator J. D. Vance, a GOP-backed lawsuit aims to erode some of the last remaining limits on unfettered election spending.
Polluters Will Say Anything to Hide Their Emissions Records
Giant corporations like ExxonMobil are calling on the Supreme Court to block a California law that would require them to release their emissions and climate records. The argument? It would violate businesses’ free speech.
The Bill That Will Make Bank Failures More Likely
A GOP-led House bill would lower regulatory barriers, including minimum capital requirements, for new and some existing community banks. A loophole in the legislation could help banking giants circumvent regulations meant to prevent bank failure.
In Utilities, a Culture of Graft Costs Consumers Billions
The cozy relationship between utilities regulators and the firms they are meant to regulate greatly benefits a few bureaucrats turned executives. It’s been a disaster for consumers, who see nothing from it but bigger bills.
Andrew Cuomo’s Tens of Millions Couldn’t Stop Zohran Mamdani
Thanks to New York City’s public campaign finance system, Zohran Mamdani was able to defeat the moneyed and powerful Cuomo political dynasty. He was victorious despite record-shattering political spending from Andrew Cuomo’s fundraising apparatus.
Americans Are Being Crushed by Health Care Premiums
Millions of Americans with Affordable Care Act plans are facing devastating health care costs after Republicans failed to renew pandemic-era extended insurance tax credits. Meanwhile, major insurers are raking in extravagant profits.
Home Insurance Is Becoming Increasingly Unaffordable
Home insurance rates are skyrocketing faster than home prices and overall inflation, draining homeowners of billions of dollars in premiums amid rising policy cancellations — driven in part by insurers’ use of artificial intelligence to assess risk.
Americans Are Mostly United Against Citizens United
When the Supreme Court issued the Citizens United decision, it allowed a torrent of unchecked dark money into political campaigning. Ordinary Americans of all political stripes have taken notice, and they overwhelmingly disapprove of the results.
Trump Is Making Private Military Contractors Even Richer
A new report reveals that a significant portion of Donald Trump’s defense budget is going to a select few private military contractors — the same firms who have spent hundreds of millions lobbying the federal government.
Spirit Halloween Is Robbing the Shopping Mall Cemetery
Spirit Halloween’s vulture-like business model keeps operating costs low by snapping up short-term leases in vacant retail spaces, making itself a rare beneficiary of private equity’s hollowing out of big box stores across the country.
The GOP Is Fine With You Getting Your Fingers Chopped Off
Donald Trump’s yes-men at the Consumer Product Safety Commission are withdrawing a series of proposed safety rules, including an appendage-saving safety mandate for table saws. This will mean thousands more fingers lost per year.
Congress’s Military Budget Carries Perks for Israel
As Palestinians return to Gaza amid the Trump administration’s precarious Israel-Hamas ceasefire, senators approved a $914 billion defense budget that fulfills several surveillance and weapons funding requests from the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC.
Bailing Out Pfizer Won’t Lower Drug Prices
President Trump is promising lower drugs prices, but last month’s “deal” between the government and Pfizer is more about funneling patients to Big Pharma’s direct-to-consumer online platforms.
Private Equity Delivers Consistently Poor Health Outcomes
Emergency rooms, dentist offices, and nursing homes managed by the private equity industry consistently deliver worse health outcomes than other such medical institutions. The difference can mean life or death for patients.
Banks Profit From High Interest Rates but Stiff Depositors
With the help of the Federal Reserve, US banks are offering loans at higher rates than the interest they pay to depositors and pocketing the difference for themselves.
Trump Is Promising Corporations a Deregulatory Bonanza
Donald Trump’s Department of Justice is asking corporations to identify state laws that “burden industry.” Corporate lobbies are responding to the request with wish lists of consumer protection laws they want the administration to preempt.
Big Pharma Is About to Lose Billions on Expired Patents
Some of the biggest pharmaceutical firms in the US are nearing the end of multibillion-dollar patent windfalls as their exclusive rights to produce certain medications. The patent cliff could spark a massive wave of new drug manufacturing mergers.
Your Therapist’s Notes Could Become Fodder For AI
Tech companies are marketing AI-based note-taking software to therapists as a new time-saving tool. But by signing up, providers may be unknowingly offering patients’ sensitive health information as data fodder to the multibillion-dollar AI therapy industry.