Congressional backers of the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act (HR-3413/S-1669) are eyeing alternate routes to have it pass this year amid continued obstacles that stymied the measure in both chambers in 2023. The legislation would require a Transportation Department mandate for inclusion of AM radio technology in future vehicles. Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Ted Cruz, R-Texas, failed to get unanimous consent approval of S-1669 in December (see 2312060073) amid opposition from Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. Senate Commerce advanced the measure in July (see 2307270063).

U.S. District Judge Jessica Clarke for Southern New York denied the petition of former Amazon third-party seller Jiakeshu Technology to vacate an arbitration award in Amazon’s favor and granted Amazon’s cross-motion to confirm that award, said Clarke’s signed opinion and order Wednesday (docket 1:22-cv-10119). In light of Clarke's ruling, a clerk's judgment Wednesday decreed that the case is closed.

U.S. solar cell maker Auxin Solar and solar module designer Concept Clean Energy launched a lawsuit at the Court of International Trade on Dec. 29 to contest the Commerce Department's pause of antidumping and countervailing duties on crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells and modules from Southeast Asian found to be circumventing the AD/CVD orders on these products from China (Auxin Solar v. U.S., CIT # 23-00274).

U.S. solar cell maker Auxin Solar and solar module designer Concept Clean Energy launched a lawsuit at the Court of International Trade on Dec. 29 to contest the Commerce Department's pause of antidumping and countervailing duties on crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells and modules from Southeast Asian found to be circumventing the AD/CVD orders on these products from China (Auxin Solar v. U.S., CIT # 23-00274).

The district court’s decision in Hachette vs. Internet Archive, in favor of four publisher plaintiffs, “paints with far too broad a brush,” said a Dec. 22 corrected amicus brief (docket 23-1260) from HathiTrust, filed Thursday before the 2nd U.S. Circuit Appeals Court.

The Commerce Department clarified this week that companies can’t use Chips Act funding to invest in certain new semiconductor facilities in China and other countries of concern, saying some companies may have thought the rules blocked only certain investments in existing facilities.

Each party to a conflict involving a raw Argentinian honey antidumping duty investigation on Dec. 22 accused the opposing side of misunderstanding the case before the court (Nexco v. United States, CIT # 22-00203).

The Court of International Trade need not be bound by the a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruling that said Section 232 duties are "United States import duties" that can be deducted from U.S. price, exporter Nippon Steel Corp. argued in a Dec. 22 reply brief (Nippon Steel Corp. v. United States, CIT # 21-00533).

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment against plaintiff-appellants Regie Salgado and Melinda Zambrano, two former employees of TruConnect Communications who alleged that the cellphone network operator fired them in retaliation for raising claims that the company engaged in schemes to defraud the FCC’s Lifeline program, said the 9th Circuit’s memorandum Friday (docket 22-55721).

The commercial space community is divided over an FAA proposal that upper-stage commercial rocket bodies and other components exit orbit within 25 years of launch. Comments are due Tuesday on an FAA draft NPRM (see 2309290057). Some in the commercial space sector argue the proposed 25-year limit will be ineffective; others say the FAA lacks the regulatory authority to oversee orbital debris issues.