4+ hour, 43+ min ago (393+ words) Hegseth's critics also argue that a "kill everybody" order would be tantamount to a "no quarter" policy, which the manual prohibits. But applying that rule in this situation is less straightforward than it might seem, especially if it requires distinguishing between Trump's avowed policy and the alleged order that he says he is sure Hegseth did not issue. That legal position, which is aimed at avoiding the constraints imposed by the War Powers Resolution, seems inconsistent with Trump's assertion of an "armed conflict." So does the nature of that purported conflict, which poses further puzzles. Geoffrey Corn, formerly the U.S. Army's senior adviser on the law of war, rejects Trump's assertion of a "non-international armed conflict," noting that it is inconsistent with the standard definition of that term. In an interview with'The New York Times, Corn noted the complications that flow…...

5+ hour, 14+ min ago (252+ words) FTC staff support the proposal by the Texas Supreme Court to allow for alternative means of accreditation. Jonathan H. Adler | 12.2.2025 5:49 PM The American Bar Association's de facto monopoly on law school accreditation took another hit this week as the directors of the Federal Trade Commission's Office of Policy Planning and Bureau of Competition endorsed a proposal by the Texas Supreme Court to allow alternative means of accreditation. This endorsement came in a nine-page letter to the Texas Supreme Court released with the approval of both currently serving FTC Commissioners. The letter reads in part: FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson also commented on the proposal in this Twitter thread. I discussed the potential end of the ABA's accreditation monopoly here. Derek Muller analyzed the Texas proposal here. Civitas Outlook sponsored a symposium on the Texas Supreme Court's proposal here. NEXT: Solicitor General Urges…...

9+ hour, 33+ min ago (1576+ words) Happy Tuesday, and welcome to another edition of Rent Free. With the holiday last week, today's newsletter is slightly abbreviated. It does at least include some happy holiday news for zoning reformers: Connecticut's passage of a controversial, once-vetoed housing supply bill. We also cover a new lawsuit filed by 20 states against the Trump administration's restrictions on homelessness funding. Rent Free Newsletter by Christian Britschgi. Get more of Christian's urban regulation, development, and zoning coverage. This newsletter also offers some reflections on the West's "Great Downzoning." Lastly, Reason's annual webathon starts today. As a scrappy, freedom-loving nonprofit, we depend on the generosity of readers to keep the lights on. If you find this newsletter interesting, useful, informative, or even just enraging, I'd encourage you to donate to support our work. Anyway, on with the show! Back in June, Connecticut Democratic Gov....

10+ hour, 3+ min ago (550+ words) Hello and welcome to another edition of Free Agent! Hope you made it home safely from your Thanksgiving travels, because I still haven't'maybe by next week? Alas, the newsletter must go on, so we've got another short edition for you today about why schools should stop hiring Lane Kiffin. Let's get to it. Don't miss sports coverage from Jason Russell and Reason. Last week, Argentina's FA created a new trophy with no warning, gave it to Rosario Central and made Estudiantes give a guard of honor. The players turned their backs in protest ???????? ' Men in Blazers (@MenInBlazers) November 27, 2025 Lane Kiffin is in the news again. But if he's doing the same thing he always does, is it really news? So it's been with every other Kiffin job. He arrives as a savior who will surely bring a wayward program back…...

10+ hour, 18+ min ago (1151+ words) Wall Street strategist Michael Green caused a stir on social media last week with his outlandish claim that the federal poverty line should be raised to cover individuals earning as much as $140,000 annually. That claim, which Green made on his Substack and subsequently in The Free Press, has been widely debunked by the likes of Scott Winship, Jeremy Horpedahl, Noah Smith, and Tyler Cowen (whose article pointing out Green's errors was published, somewhat hilariously, in The Free Press too). And yet, somehow, Green returned. In a follow-up post on Substack, Green argued that "the point" of the original article "was not the accuracy of the actual $140K claim." He goes on to concede that his many critics were right that both his math and his geography were flawed'the original article was premised on the cost of living in Essex County, New…...

11+ hour, 22+ min ago (204+ words) The Trump administration has decided that, for student loan programs at least, nursing programs are not "professional" degrees. While the decision simply means nursing students will be subject to a lower federal student loan borrowing cap, nursing organizations have reacted with horror, viewing it as an all-out assault on the nursing profession. Statements like Kennedy's assume that graduate school tuition is essentially a fixed fact. Attempts to curb students' ability to take on six-figure federal student loan debts are read as pushing poor students out of school, rather than pushing schools to lower their prices. NEXT: No One Left Alive Dec. 2 - Dec. 9, 2025 Thanks to 87 donors, we've reached $19,676 of our $400,000 goal! Donate Now! Donate Now Emma Camp | 12.2.2025 11:41 AM Liz Wolfe | 12.2.2025 9:40 AM Katherine Mangu-Ward | 12.2.2025 8:24 AM Damon Root | 12.2.2025 7:00 AM Eric Boehm | From the January 2026 issue Support journalism that exposes bad economics, failed policies,…...

13+ hour, 18+ min ago (223+ words) The Department of Justice sides with Monsanto on whether federal law preempts state-law duty-to-warn suits against pesticide manufacturers setting up an important test of the Court's view of federal preemption. Jonathan H. Adler | 12.2.2025 9:45 AM The brief is consistent with the the Trump Administration's pro-preemption perspective in other environmental contexts, such as climate litigation.On the other hand, it may conflict with the preferences of MAHA-types within the Administration. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has both been a critic of Roundup and has supported litigation against Monsanto. NEXT: Geese, Ganders, and Pterodactyls: Amicus Brief in Fifth Circuit En Banc Rehearing of West Texas A&M Drag Ban Case Dec. 2 - Dec. 9, 2025 Thanks to 59 donors, we've reached $11,911 of our $400,000 goal! Donate Now! Donate Now Liz Wolfe | 12.2.2025 9:40 AM Katherine Mangu-Ward | 12.2.2025 8:24 AM Damon Root | 12.2.2025 7:00 AM Eric Boehm | From the January 2026 issue Charles…...

13+ hour, 24+ min ago (453+ words) War crimes cover-up? Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is finding his way into trouble due to his handling of the legally suspect Caribbean boat strikes, which have killed over 80 people so far. The Washington Post'reported on Friday that Hegseth gave verbal orders to kill everybody aboard a vessel believed to be carrying drugs off the coast of Trinidad back on September 2. At the time of the strike, there appeared to be two survivors clinging to the wreckage; the Special Operations commander overseeing the mission ordered another strike to kill the two men. The White House press secretary, who has been engaged in some Hegseth-culpability erasure (saying that Bradley "worked well within his authority and the law, directing the engagement to ensure the boat was destroyed"), is "throwing us, the service members, under the bus," one official told the Post.'Another characterized…...

14+ hour, 34+ min ago (260+ words) Eugene Volokh | 12.2.2025 8:29 AM From a brief filed yesterday by Joshua J. Bennett (Baker & Hostetler LLP) on behalf of Dale Carpenter, the Cato Institute, and me in Spectrum WT v. Wendler (for the panel majority and dissent, see here): [I.] Viewpoint Discrimination Is Forbidden Even in Limited Public Fora and Nonpublic Fora. [III.] The Court's Decision in CLS Cannot Justify Viewpoint Discrimination and Is No Substitute for Strict Scrutiny. CLS and many other cases make clear: The government may not discriminate based on viewpoint even in limited public fora and nonpublic fora, and certainly in designated public fora. The restriction in this case was viewpoint-based, and therefore unconstitutional. For this reason, this Court should affirm the panel majority's judgment that Plaintiffs are likely to succeed on the merits. Many thanks to Joshua Bennett for putting this together. NEXT: Journal of Free Speech Law: "What Did…...

14+ hour, 39+ min ago (434+ words) Welcome to the most wonderful time of the year: Reason's annual webathon, our end-of-year fundraising drive. All year long, we offer investigative reporting, sharp analysis, and arguments for free minds and free markets. We offer cheap subscriptions and give most of our content away for $0. So why are we asking for your donations this week? Because Reason is stubbornly independent. We don't take government money (gross), and we don't tailor our journalism to please anyone (as my inbox demonstrates every single day). Your donations support high-quality journalism covering such important areas as civil liberties, free speech, the rule of law, politics, criminal justice, economics, innovation, and more. (Plus we cover a bunch of fun stuff, including video games, books, movies, and new tech.) So please donate! We take U.S. dollars. We take crypto. We take PayPal. Whatever form of peaceful, consensual…...