Federal and state agencies are increasingly obtaining Americans’ personal data not by passing new surveillance laws or obtaining warrants, but by purchasing it on the open market. Because the information is bought as a commercial product rather than seized, the practice operates within existing statutes while bypassing the legal process those statutes were designed to require. Civil liberties groups call...
June 26, 2026
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Higher Needs, Higher Pay: How Foster Care’s Tiered Payments Intersect With Medication and School Outcomes
Across the United States, foster parents are not paid a single flat rate for every child. Reimbursement is layered: states pay a base amount for routine care and progressively higher amounts for children assessed as having greater behavioral, emotional, or medical needs. Those higher tiers — labeled “special,” “exceptional,” “specialized,” or “difficulty of care” depending on the state — can...
When the Shelf Knows Your Name: How Kroger’s Digital Pricing and Data Surveillance Could Intertwine
Two of Kroger’s most significant modernization efforts have, until recently, been discussed largely in isolation. One is the rollout of electronic shelf labels (ESLs) — the digital price tags now installed in roughly one in four of the company’s stores nationwide, which let prices be changed instantly from a central computer. The other is Kroger’s fast-growing data and retail-media business,...
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Buying Around the Constitution: How Governments Use Data Brokers to Sidestep Privacy Protections Without Breaking the Law
Federal and state agencies are increasingly obtaining Americans’ personal data not by passing new surveillance laws or obtaining warrants, but...
Higher Needs, Higher Pay: How Foster Care’s Tiered Payments Intersect With Medication and School Outcomes
Across the United States, foster parents are not paid a single flat rate for every child. Reimbursement is layered: states...
When the Shelf Knows Your Name: How Kroger’s Digital Pricing and Data Surveillance Could Intertwine
Two of Kroger’s most significant modernization efforts have, until recently, been discussed largely in isolation. One is the rollout of...
‘Ghost Students’ and AI Bots Are Draining Federal Financial Aid. Here’s How Big the Problem Has Become
Across the United States, colleges are discovering that a growing share of the people on their class rosters do not...
Independent “Rape Gang” Report Renews Scrutiny of British State’s Role in Decades of Child Sexual Exploitation
A privately funded inquiry led by independent Member of Parliament Rupert Lowe has reignited debate over how British institutions —...
Why California Is Still Counting Votes — and Whether the Delays Reach the 2026 Midterms
Eleven days after California’s June 2 primary, election officials in the nation’s most populous state were still counting ballots. The...
How Race and Jury Selection Shaped the Karmelo Anthony Murder Trial
A Collin County, Texas, jury convicted 19-year-old Karmelo Anthony of first-degree murder on June 9, 2026, in the 2025 stabbing...
Collapse of Alexandra Lozano Immigration Law Leaves Tens of Thousands of Clients Facing Uncertain Status
A high-volume immigration law firm that built a national following on the promise of “legal miracles” has shut down, leaving...