Government exclusion or restriction of press access as retaliation for a news organization's choice of language or terminology can raise First Amendment free-speech issues.
November 23, 2025
high
legal
General legal principle about retaliatory government actions against the press
A provision in a spending package would allow U.S. senators who were directly targeted by the U.S. Department of Justice to sue the federal government for up to $500,000.
November 20, 2025
high
policy
Describes the monetary remedy and who is eligible under the provision added to a legislative spending package.
As of 2025-11-18, neither the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) nor the Muslim Brotherhood were designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the U.S. government.
November 18, 2025
high
legal/status
States the U.S. government's designation status for the named organizations.
U.S. officials have presented designation of an organization as a 'foreign terrorist organization' as a step that can enable targeting of a country's assets and infrastructure.
November 15, 2025
medium
general
Policy framing used by U.S. officials when discussing foreign terrorist organization designations and their potential effects on state-linked assets.
U.S. federal judges can order the release on bond of detained individuals if a court determines those arrests potentially violated a court order, and judges can require the government to identify detainees who may be flight risks or public safety threats.
November 14, 2025
high
procedural
Judicial remedial and oversight powers in response to alleged unlawful arrests.
A 2025 Tax Foundation estimate by Erica York concluded that providing $2,000 rebates to households earning under $100,000 annually would produce at least a $100 billion shortfall compared with expected tariff revenues for the U.S. government.
November 11, 2025
high
temporal
Budgetary analysis comparing proposed per-household rebates to projected tariff revenue.
A 2025 Tax Foundation estimate indicated that limiting $2,000 rebates to households earning $75,000 or less annually would still exceed expected tariff revenues for the U.S. government.
November 11, 2025
high
temporal
Budgetary analysis showing projected tariff revenues insufficient to fund $2,000-per-household rebates even when narrowly targeted.
U.S. government shutdowns can result in essential federal employees, including air traffic controllers, continuing to work without pay.
November 07, 2025
high
general
During funding lapses, many federal employees deemed essential are required to work despite pay being delayed.
Federal research funding can be withheld from universities while the U.S. government conducts investigations into alleged civil rights violations.
November 07, 2025
high
procedural
Describes a durable government enforcement mechanism affecting university research funding during civil-rights probes.
A university can enter an agreement to accept a government's interpretation of civil rights laws as a condition for restoring federal funding.
November 07, 2025
high
procedural
Describes a generalizable resolution mechanism in which funding is restored contingent on legal or policy concessions.
The U.S. government designates a 'country of particular concern' to identify nations that are engaged in severe violations of religious freedom.
November 02, 2025
high
policy
U.S. foreign policy tool for labeling and responding to serious religious freedom abuses.
The U.S. government maintains a formal process to designate foreign organizations as terrorist organizations.
November 01, 2025
high
legal
The U.S. designation process is used to label groups as terrorist organizations for legal and operational purposes.
A government shutdown can halt the release of key economic indicators, including monthly jobs reports, reducing access to official government-produced data.
October 29, 2025
high
process
Describes how interruptions in government operations affect the availability of official economic statistics.
Private-sector economic indicators and nationwide anecdotes provide timely information but are generally less comprehensive than government-produced reports, which are considered the gold standard for economic data.
October 29, 2025
high
methodological
Describes relative strengths and limitations of private vs. government economic data sources.
The U.S. government characterizes visas as a privilege rather than a right and states that visas may be revoked at any time at the government's discretion when circumstances warrant.
October 29, 2025
high
temporal
Statement of U.S. government policy on issuance and revocation of visas.
U.S. immigration enforcement initiatives have included efforts to pursue deportation of student activists, academics, and others who participated in pro-Palestinian protests, with authorities in some cases characterizing those protests as antisemitism.
October 21, 2025
high
policy
Describes a pattern of enforcement actions tying participation in certain protests to immigration enforcement.
U.S. immigration vetting practices can include social media screening of applicants for legal immigration benefits as part of background checks.
October 16, 2025
high
process
Social media screening is used as one component of applicant vetting for immigration benefits.
The U.S. government uses classification labels including "confidential", "secret", and "top secret" to designate levels of national security information.
October 16, 2025
high
temporal
Standard information-classification labels used to mark national security documents.
The U.S. government uses classification levels including 'Confidential', 'Secret', and 'Top Secret' to mark sensitive national security information.
October 16, 2025
high
classification
Standard U.S. information classification system for marking sensitive materials.
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States and is awarded by the President of the United States; the Congressional Medal of Honor is the United States military's highest honor.
October 12, 2025
high
definition
U.S. civilian and military honors
U.S. federal employees who are furloughed during a government shutdown are generally entitled to receive retroactive (back) pay once government funding is restored.
October 08, 2025
high
temporal
Legal and budgetary practice affecting federal employment during government shutdowns.
The U.S. government can designate criminal organizations, including drug cartels, as foreign terrorist organizations, which can trigger additional enforcement and financial measures.
October 06, 2025
high
temporal
Designation as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO) is a policy tool used to expand enforcement options against non-state groups.
The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibits the government from compelling speech by federal employees.
October 05, 2025
high
legal
Constitutional free-speech principle cited in litigation over compelled employee messaging.
The U.S. government paused issuance of worker visas for commercial truck drivers in August 2025 to conduct a comprehensive review of screening and vetting protocols used to determine visa qualifications, according to the U.S. State Department.
August 01, 2025
medium
temporal
A federal policy pause on worker visas for commercial truck drivers and its stated rationale.
A provision titled 'Requiring Senate Notification for Senate Data' inserted into a Legislative Branch appropriations bill would authorize U.S. senators directly targeted in Special Counsel Jack Smith's 'Arctic Frost' investigation to sue the U.S. federal government for up to $500,000 in damages.
May 20, 2025
high
policy
Describes the scope and monetary remedy authorized by a legislative provision related to targeted surveillance of senators.
The U.S. government designated drug cartel groups including Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa cartel as foreign terrorist organizations in February 2025.
February 01, 2025
medium
temporal
Describes a policy designation by the U.S. government classifying specific transnational criminal groups as foreign terrorist organizations.
U.S. government data for 2024 show that the median income of Hispanic households increased by 5.5% from 2023 to 2024 and that the poverty rate among Hispanics fell from 16.6% in 2023 to 15.0% in 2024.
December 31, 2024
high
statistical
Annual U.S. government income and poverty estimates for Hispanic households.
A 2024 White House memo proposed offering universities preferential benefits such as research funding, approval of student visas, preferential tax treatment, access to student loans, grant programs, and federal contracts in exchange for adopting specified campus reforms.
October 10, 2024
high
policy
Summary of benefits-for-reforms proposal contained in a 2024 White House memo aimed at universities.
A 2024 White House memo asked universities to accept the U.S. government's definition of gender and to apply that definition to campus bathrooms, locker rooms, and women's sports teams.
October 10, 2024
high
policy
Proposed campus policy requirements included in the 2024 White House memo.
Radio Free Asia is funded entirely by the U.S. government and receives approximately $60 million per year in U.S. appropriations.
July 17, 2024
high
financial
Describes the primary source and approximate annual level of public funding for the news organization Radio Free Asia.
Radio Free Asia (RFA) is a nonprofit news organization that receives approximately $60 million per year in funding from the U.S. government to support news production aimed at audiences in Asia.
January 01, 2024
high
financial
Annual funding level reported for RFA used to support its Asia-focused news operations.
A joint resolution related to the 2019 amendment specified that the U.S. government would pay 'obligations incurred' during the 2019 government shutdown.
January 25, 2019
high
temporal
The joint resolution clarified that certain obligations from the 2019 lapse would be paid.
The legal authority invoked by the U.S. government after the September 11, 2001 attacks has been used to justify capturing and detaining combatants and using lethal force against their leadership.
September 11, 2001
high
legal
Describes the scope of post-9/11 legal authorities (commonly invoked in counterterrorism) as permitting detention of combatants and targeted lethal force against leadership.
After the September 11, 2001 attacks, the George W. Bush administration invoked legal authorities in the 'war on terrorism' to designate certain groups as unlawful combatants.
September 11, 2001
high
contextual
Post-2001 U.S. legal and policy frameworks for the war on terrorism included designation of some actors as unlawful combatants.
U.S. government passport policy since 1977 has generally prohibited passport applicants from self-selecting their sex designation, with limited exceptions under later administrations.
January 01, 1977
high
temporal
Describes the historical baseline U.S. passport policy regarding whether applicants can choose their sex marker.
A temporary government funding action provides funding for federal operations for a specified short period and permits the regular appropriations process to continue.
high
process
General description of the effect of short-term funding measures used to reopen or temporarily fund government operations.
A U.S. government shutdown occurs when appropriations lapse and federal operations lack enacted funding.
high
temporal
General definition of a federal government shutdown
The usual practice during a U.S. government shutdown is to furlough federal workers and restore them to their jobs once the shutdown ends.
high
temporal
Describes typical treatment of federal employees when funding lapses during a shutdown.
The U.S. Department of State and U.S. visa policy treat visas as a privilege that can be revoked for violations of U.S. law or for activities that are contrary to U.S. national interests.
high
policy
General U.S. visa policy and enforcement rationale cited by State Department officials.
A "reduction-in-force" is a U.S. government term used to describe layoffs.
high
definition
Term used in federal workforce management to denote staff reductions
The U.S. government uses prepublication review processes to examine manuscripts by former officials for potential classified information prior to publication.
high
process
Describes the durable administrative process referenced in cases involving former officials' writings.
Sharing classified information with unauthorized individuals can reveal details about intelligence sources and methods used by the U.S. government to collect intelligence.
high
security
General risk associated with unauthorized disclosure of classified material.
Classified information can include diary-like notes or summaries derived from meetings with U.S. government officials, intelligence briefings, and discussions with foreign leaders.
high
descriptive
Typical forms and origins of material that may be classified.
Tren de Aragua is a Venezuelan transnational criminal organization that has been designated by the U.S. government as a foreign terrorist organization.
high
legal/organizational
Designation relates to the characterization of Tren de Aragua as an organization subject to counterterrorism and law enforcement actions.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker and House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers have stated that U.S. force posture in Europe should be updated as NATO assumes additional burdens and as the character of warfare changes, and that such updates must be coordinated across U.S. government entities and with NATO.
high
policy
Summarizes lawmakers' stated principles for when and how U.S. military posture changes in Europe should occur.
The Crime Victims' Rights Act imposes obligations on the government to consider and address the rights and interests of victims during criminal proceedings.
high
legal
Statutory framework that requires government consideration of victims' rights in federal criminal cases.
U.S. government enforcement efforts have at times sought to identify and potentially remove foreign nationals alleged to have fomented or participated in unrest or publicly supported protests related to foreign conflicts; civil rights groups have criticized such actions as potentially violating constitutional free-speech protections.
high
policy
Description of a type of enforcement policy and associated civil-rights critiques.
Government shutdowns can delay the Bureau of Labor Statistics' release schedule for monthly employment reports, and the agency may incorporate delayed monthly data into subsequent monthly reports rather than publishing a separate delayed release.
high
process
When data collection or processing is interrupted by funding lapses, publication schedules and report composition can change.
The U.S. government offered a $5 million reward for information leading to the capture of Haytham Ali Tabatabai.
high
status
U.S. reward for information on an individual designated as a terrorist