Can Trump Order Congress Home and Unilaterally Fill Vacancies Via the Recess Appointment Power?
The president contemplates a sweeping exercise of executive authority.
Coronavirus
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Provides a Lesson in What States Shouldn't Do To Stop a Pandemic
Some protestors were nasty and went overboard, but her harsh tactics will sap her legitimacy at a critical juncture.
It Figures That Michigan Is Among the First States To See Protests Against Social Distancing
Plus: Puerto Rico criminalizes fake news about COVID-19, wide geographic disparity in U.S. income growth, and more...
COVID-19 and the Collapse of Complex Societies
Sometimes pressure causes breakdowns, but sometimes it causes breakthroughs.
Frivolous Litigators Bite the Hands That Care for Them
Bogus lawsuits threaten medical professionals who are fighting on the front lines against COVID-19.
Raleigh Police Department: 'Protesting Is a Non-Essential Activity'
The government has broad emergency powers, but that doesn't mean the Constitution is suspended.
Michigan's Emergency Stay-at-Home Order Is a Hot Mess. Now 4 Sheriffs Say They Won't Be Enforcing Parts of It.
"We question some restrictions that she has imposed as overstepping her executive authority."
Researchers Around the Globe Are Racing To Discover and Create COVID-19 'Game Changers'
None have yet emerged that can clearly stem the tide of the ongoing pandemic.
The Paycheck Protection Program for Small Businesses Will Run Out of Money Today
The $349 billion loan program is meant to help small companies hit hard by social distancing.
The Case for "Regular" Judicial Review of Coronavirus Emergency Policies
Legal scholars Lindsay Wiley and Steve Vladeck explain why courts should not give special deference to the government in cases challenging the constitutionality of anti-coronavirus policies.
Justin Amash Has Been Actively Pondering a Libertarian Presidential Run for 2 Months, and Will Decide Soon
Here are 4 questions the independent congressman and the rest of the country will have to consider
There Is Literally One Guy Overseeing Nearly $500 Billion of Emergency Coronavirus Spending
He has no colleagues or staff, but he's supposed to provide oversight on $454 billion in coronavirus spending—nearly equal to the annual budget for Medicare.
From the Cholera Riots to the Coronavirus Revolts
The more punitive the approach to public health, the fiercer the backlash.
How China Corrupted the World Health Organization's Response to COVID-19
Trump isn't absolved of his own failures in confronting the pandemic, but the WHO's response to the coronavirus destroyed much of its credibility and damaged the field of public health.
Meet the Philly Judge Standing in the Way of Efforts To Stop Coronavirus Spread in Jails
Judge Anne Marie Coyle has rejected every emergency attempt to reduce prison populations.
The WHO Helped Spread Chinese Communist Lies About COVID-19. Now It's Lecturing People About Drinking During Quarantine.
The WHO arguably failed at its most basic mission of stopping the spread of a global pandemic, but it's still willing to hector people about their drinking habits.
After Pennsylvania Closed All Liquor Stores, Residents Crossed State Borders To Buy Booze. Now Ohio Is Shutting Down Out-of-State Sales.
Border counties are now prohibited from selling to anyone without proof of residency.
The Pandemic Brings Out Americans' Inner Snitches
Setting the cops on social-distancing scofflaws is dangerous to public health and a free society.
With 30 Percent of Tenants Unable To Pay Their Bills This Month Due to COVID-19, Many Want Rent Canceled
Alexandria, Virginia, is the latest city to entertain demands to cancel rent payments during the current pandemic.
Trump Insists His Name Appear on COVID-19 Relief Checks
Plus: Test Americans for the coronavirus every seven days? And more...
Physicians Should Be Allowed To Practice Across State Lines—and Not Just During a Pandemic
Permitting telemedicine and recognizing medical licenses from other states will reduce future doctor shortages.
People, Not Politicians, Will Decide When the Coronavirus Shutdown Ends
It's not the politicians who have the power to reopen America, or at least the parts that are now closed. It's individuals, families, businesses, and religious congregations.
Don't Follow China's Example on COVID-19
China's dictators are quick to take extreme measures against whatever they see as a problem.
Even in a Pandemic, 'Constitutional Rights Still Exist'
A federal judge defended religious freedom by blocking a misguided ban on drive-in Easter services.
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Rejects Takings Challenge to Coronavirus Shutdown Order
The Court's decision follows almost exactly the same line of reasoning as I had expected.
Trump Vows to Cut Off U.S. Funding to the World Health Organization
"We have deep concerns whether America's generosity has been put to the best use possible."
Trump Can Encourage States to Lift Their COVID-19 Lockdowns, but He Can't Decree That Outcome
The president has a history of asserting powers he does not actually have.
Boston Restaurants Want To Sell Groceries. Bureaucrats Say No Way.
The city said that food-packaging regulations stand in the way. That's not true.
Under Pandemic Lockdowns, Bartending Is Illegal. Is This the New Prohibition?
What happens to bars in a world where bars as we've always known them are forbidden?
2 Decades of Dubious Surveillance Will Make It Much Harder To Track COVID-19 Now
Government officials have only themselves to blame if citizens decline to share their information.
Budget Deficit Now Expected To Near $4 Trillion This Year
And more coronavirus stimulus spending could send that number soaring higher.
While Trump Rants, It's Governors Who Have Gone Full Captain Queeg
Don't let states and cities get away with onerous rules that in no way help to contain COVID-19.
Emergency COVID-19 Rules Effectively Give California's NIMBYs Unlimited Time To File Anti-Housing Environmental Lawsuits
And they are taking full advantage of the opportunity
Trump Claims He Has 'Total' Authority Over When States End Social Distancing Rules. He's Wrong.
Plus: Americans plan to stay home for months, courts block more abortion bans, Amash "looking closely" at presidential run, and more...
We Can Track COVID-19's Spread Without Violating Privacy
The coronavirus is no excuse to intrude on people's lives unnecessarily. Tech provides decentralized systems for contact tracing.
No, Trump Cannot Open the Country Back Up Whenever He Wants
The president again insisted that the federal government can open the country by fiat. It cannot.
Michigan Bans 'All Public and Private Gatherings,' Will Still Allow Lottery Sales
The governor's new stay-at-home order is arbitrary and far too strict.
Hospital Technicians Ignore Copyright Law to Fight COVID-19
They trade tips and manuals through a decentralized information-sharing network. Biomedical technicians say it's the fastest and easiest way to get life-saving information.
Abortion Providers Plead With Supreme Court To Allow Abortion Pills in Texas
"Delaying abortions by weeks does nothing to further the State's interest in combatting COVID-19," they say.
The 'False Debate' About Reopening the Economy Is the One That Ignores the Enormous Human Cost of Sweeping COVID-19 Control Measures
A New York Times Magazine forum highlights the moral implications of suppressing economic activity.
What Have the Media Gotten Wrong (and Right) During Coronavirus?
Plus a round-up of zero-tolerance corona crackdowns
Kids Missing School Because of Coronavirus? Don't Worry Too Much
Most will avoid significant academic losses in the long term.
COVID-19 and Its Accompanying Restrictions Continue to Harm World Food Supply
Ill workers in processing facilities, the forced death of restaurants, and national and international storage and shipping disruptions all threaten our food supply.
Trump's Tariffs Are Still Slowing America's Coronavirus Response
General Motors is being charged import taxes on parts it needs to build ventilators. Its requests for relief have gone unanswered.
Public Health Authorities Have Failed America at Every Level
They ignored early warning signs and pretended that everything would be OK.
Serving 12 Years for Possessing a Cellphone—Unless the Coronavirus Gets to Him First
Some places are releasing nonviolent offenders during the COVID-19 outbreak. Mississippi won't free a man who failed to hand in his phone.
Religious Freedom Clashes With Public Health Enforcers
Plus: Signal will leave the U.S. market if EARN IT passes, Justin Amash blasts Michigan shutdown orders, and more...
