Touching Your Phone While Driving Is Now Illegal in Idaho, Illinois, and Indiana
Plus: More (bad, weird, and occasionally good) new state laws that start taking effect today.
Nanny State
Partisan Hypocrisy on Display in Supreme Court Ruling on Anti-Prostitution Pledge and the First Amendment
Can the government compel speech? For Supreme Court justices, that seems to depend on the content of that speech.
Interstate Travel Restrictions Are Just Political Posturing
We should feel free to ignore travel restrictions imposed by political clowns using the public as pawns in their feuds.
Canada's Largest Province Grapples with Food Rules During COVID-19
Ontario has added new protections for agricultural workers and relaxed restaurant regulations.
Florida and Texas Close Their Bars In Response to Surge in New COVID-19 Cases
Rising rates of new cases and hospitalizations have seen both states' governors reverse course on reopening businesses.
NYPD Cops Claimed Shake Shack Employees Put Bleach in Their Milkshakes. An NYPD Investigation Found Otherwise.
Cops have a long history of thinking fast food workers are out to get them.
OnlyFans Didn't Save Sex Workers, Sex Workers Saved Themselves.
Camming sites foster autonomy and creativity, while eliminating middlemen and thwarting vice cops.
In Future Crises, Let People Make Their Own Decisions
Top-down, one-size-fits-few mandates are recipes for conflict.
Make 'Temporary' Regulatory Relief Permanent After the Pandemic Passes
The health crisis revealed red tape that hobbles our lives even in good times.
Washington, D.C., May Permanently Legalize To-Go Cocktails
If there's a silver lining for the bars and restaurants that have been hit by the COVID-19 lockdowns, it's the widespread loosening of liquor laws.
ICE Agents Fight Sex Trafficking by Paying Potential Victims for Hand Jobs
In "Operation Asian Touch," federal agents coerced suspected human-trafficking victims into sex acts. Local cops seized money and threw them in jail.
Anti-Porn Groups Target Websites' Ability to Accept Credit Card Payments
We've seen this before...
Supreme Court Can Put a Stop to Rule Compelling Anti-Prostitution Speech From Anti-HIV/AIDS Groups
The anti-prostitution pledge is unconstitutional when applied to U.S. nonprofits. But the feds say it's still OK to compel speech from these groups' foreign affiliates.
Lockdown Is Ending, Whether Governments Approve or Not
Executive orders may have encouraged the lockdowns, but they always depended on voluntary behavior.
Hawaiian Brewery Under Investigation for Hand Sanitizer Giveaway
Absurd enforcement of liquor regulations harms public health efforts.
People Stuck at Home Are Making and Watching Porn. Everybody Panic!
Anti-porn crusaders get their panties in a twist about a uptick in porn consumption during COVID-19.
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.
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?
Banning Alcohol Sales During the COVID-19 Pandemic Is a Terrible Idea
For all the good prohibition might do to reduce domestic violence, it won't actually solve that problem and it will certainly cause others.
Pennsylvania Has Made It Both Difficult and Dangerous to Buy Liquor
The state has shut down all liquor stores, leading customers to crowd into retailers across the border.
The FDA Is Making It Much, Much Harder for Distilleries To Produce Hand Sanitizer
Rules designed to keep alcohol safe for children are slowing down production of a product that’s in short supply.
U.S. Sex Workers and 'Prurient' Businesses Excluded From COVID-19 Disaster Loans
Plus: U.S. movie theaters made only a little more than $5,000 last week, COVID-19 cases in Florida surge, and more....
Not Even COVID-19 Can Shake New Jersey's Fear of Letting Drivers Pump Their Own Gas
But Oregon grudgingly relents. For now.
New Jersey Allows, Then Blocks, Deliveries From Breweries and Distilleries
Takeout and delivery orders are the only thing keeping the state's 115 craft breweries afloat during the coronavirus outbreak.
Cocktail Delivery Isn't Just for Pandemics
Make this incredible service to America permanently legal.
Coronavirus Testing Finally Ramps Up, No Thanks to the Federal Government
Plus: margaritas and toilet paper, Playboy ends its print publication, and more...
Keep Coronavirus Out of Jails by Arresting Fewer People in the First Place
Police departments turn to summons instead of processing people into cells—a change they should keep after this is all over.
The EARN IT Act Is the New FOSTA
The new bill takes aim at internet freedom and privacy under the pretense of saving kids.
Ross Douthat: 'When They Take the Porn, You Can Curse My Name'
New York Times columnist and Decadent Society author defends prohibitionism in a conversation on The Fifth Column.
Trump's Tariffs Are Hiking the Price of Your Favorite Whisky
American whisky and wine drinkers are being punished for trying to amicably trade what they have for what they want.
Senators Push Sneaky Anti-Privacy Bill
The EARN IT is an attack on encryption masquerading as a blow against underage porn.
Bloomberg Drops Out, Demonstrating the Limits of Money and the Perils of Arrogance
The former New York City mayor has never been good at concealing his conviction that he is smarter and better than the rest of us.
Bloomberg Is a Statist, Not a Centrist
If the ex-mayor's fondness for relentless government intervention is "moderate," it's no wonder voters are kicking the tires on more "extreme" major-party candidates.
No, Trump Didn't Cut the CDC's Coronavirus Budget. No, People Aren't Blaming Corona Beer for the Disease.
Coronavirus misinformation is spreading faster than the disease itself.
Virginia Bill Targets Massage Parlor Workers
Lawmakers want to get tougher on touching "with the intent to sexually arouse."
Trump's War on Whisky Is a Dram Shame
Whisky has become collateral damage in a long-running spat between the U.S. and the E.U. over subsidies to airplane manufacturers.
Wisconsin May Allow Bars To Stay Open Late for the Democratic National Convention—Why Not Always?
If cities will accommodate huge numbers of visitors, why not extend the courtesy to locals?
California Bill Would Require Occupational Licenses for Porn Actors, Strippers, Cam Girls
Adult performers are outraged at the proposed licensing requirements, and have vowed to fight the bill.
U.K. 'Celebrates' Its New Freedom From the E.U. by Pushing Massive Online Censorship Orders
Government wants to force social media platforms to accept a “duty of care” to protect users from whatever they deem harmful.
Illinois Bill Would Ban Adults From Pumping Their Own Gas
Rep. Camille Lilly, who authored the bill, says her legislation will lead to more safety, convenience, and jobs.
Only Tulsi Gabbard Wants to Decriminalize Sex Work, but Other Dems Show Signs of Progress on the Issue
"If a consenting adult wants to engage in sex work, that is their right," Gabbard says.
