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U.S. Department of Education Finds University’s Transgender Student-Athlete Policies Violated Title IX

Quick Hits The Department of Education found that San José State University’s policies allowing student-athletes assigned male at birth to compete in women’s sports and access the corresponding facilities “deny women equal educational opportunities and benefits.” This finding follows a directed investigation pursuant to President Donald Trump’s February 2025 executive order barring transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports. The executive order—which takes the position that allowing transgender student-athletes’ participation…

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
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How tariffs threaten business dynamism, productivity and growth

25 February 2026By Marie Alder, Paloma Lopez-Garcia and Susana Parraga Rodriguez Tariff hikes are putting European companies under strain at a time when productivity growth is already sluggish. Short-term business sentiment is not the only thing at stake. Tariffs could also dampen business dynamism, a key channel for innovation and long-term growth.Business dynamism – the constant churn of firms entering the market, growing, contracting and then exiting – is crucial…

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March 2026 Visa Bulletin Brings Meaningful Forward Movement

Quick Hits EB-1 advances for China and India. All EB-2 categories advance, except China. EB-3 advances except China and India. Final Action Dates The final action dates chart show the following movement in the March 2026 Visa Bulletin: EB-1: Advances one month for China and India; all other countries continue to be current. EB-2: No movement for China, India advances two months to September 15, 2013; all other countries advance…

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Canada’s Defence Industrial Strategy: New implications for Canadian defence procurement

On Feb. 17, 2026, the Government of Canada released the latest iteration of Canada’s national defence strategy, Security, Sovereignty and Prosperity: Canada’s Defence Industrial Strategy (the Strategy), which follows a commitment in Budget 2025 to invest $81.8 billion into the Canadian Armed Forces by 2030, and institutional efforts to facilitate a Canada-focused approach to defence procurement. The Strategy is centered upon a “Build-Partner-Buy” framework that prioritizes domestic procurement in areas…

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Lifesaving Search-and-Rescue Robots Expand Testing Grounds at New CMU Facility

Downed power lines, flooding and collapsed buildings are dangerous obstacles emergency responders must navigate when searching for survivors of catastrophic events. But robots that can overcome these challenges could save lives without putting human rescuers at risk. Soon, search-and-rescue robotics researchers at Carnegie Mellon University will be able to build on their work at the Robotics Innovation Center(opens in new window) (RIC) to test their inventions. Flying robots to the rescueResearchers…

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‘The Plastic Divide’ – how carrier bag bans impact the poorest communities

A new study from The University of Manchester has shed light on an unexpected consequence of plastic bag bans in East Africa, and why well-intentioned environmental laws may actually be making life harder for the people they aim to protect.Anthropologist Dr Declan Murray spent nine months in Tanzania’s capital city Dar es Salaam, following the everyday journeys of plastic bags from small shops and street food stalls to people’s homes…

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Northern researchers and Whitehall unite to tackle the SEND crisis through connected data

On the day the government published its Every child achieving and thriving white paper on reforms to the schools and SEND systems in England, policymakers, researchers, clinicians and frontline practitioners gathered in Manchester to demonstrate how connected data can turn that ambition into reality. The Child of the North Data Showcase, held at the Whitworth Art Gallery at The University of Manchester, brought together nearly 100 delegates from NHS trusts, local…

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UNSC Veto in the 21st Century: Remnant of the Past or a Pillar of the World Order?

During the first decades of the UN’s existence, it became clear that this arrangement had a downside. Between 1946 and 1960, it was the USSR that became the principal beneficiary of the mechanism, exercising the veto more than 70 times—while the other powers rarely used it. The Soviet side justified its frequent vetoes as necessary to protect the world from decisions imposed by a Western majority in the UNSC. With…

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Washington Federal Court Rules FLSA Rights Can Be Waived by Contract

Quick Hits The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington recently granted summary judgment to an employer, holding that the plaintiff’s FLSA and Washington state wage claims were barred by a valid separation agreement and release. The court rejected the argument that FLSA rights can never be waived by contract, finding no binding authority or statutory text to support a categorical prohibition on waiver. The court also held…

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Oxford and Liverpool join forces to tackle global challenges

 The partnership aims to connect and activate the Oxfordshire and Liverpool City Region innovation ecosystem, providing a coherent UK pathway from research and company creation through to scale-up, industrialisation and global market growth, supporting the national industrial strategy to drive forward economic growth and productivity for the UK.The MoU was signed at a special partnership event by Professor Irene Tracey, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford, Professor Tim Jones, Vice-Chancellor…

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Expert Comment: Four years of full-scale war and Ukrainian resistance continues

At 5:00am on 24 February 2022, Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, marking a dramatic escalation of a conflict that had begun in 2014 when the Russian Federation illegally annexed the Crimean peninsula and Russian-backed separatists occupied cities in Ukraine’s eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.Despite ceasefires and negotiated settlements like the Minsk Agreements in 2014 and 2015, the war raged for eight years as Russian troops sought to…

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The New Postmark Rule Could Make Employee Benefit Notices Late

Quick Hits The USPS recently changed a rule so that postmarks may reflect the processing date, rather than the date a post office obtained a letter or package. The new rule could lead to fines for employers if mandatory notices concerning employee benefit plans are deemed late. Electronically sending mandatory notices can help to meet a legal deadline, if the recipient has agreed to electronic communications. Under federal laws like…

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Disclosure of Carbon Emissions Spurs Business Creation

No matter how carefully it’s crafted, regulation has unintended consequences. When daycares tried to curb tardiness by charging parents who showed up late to get their children, the number of tardy parents doubled. Attempts to reduce housing discrimination by forbidding landlords from conducting criminal background checks appear to actually increase discrimination against Black men.“What we do as researchers is look into the unobvious consequences of regulation,” says Professor Raphael Duguay.…

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CMU’s Robotics Innovation Center Secures FieldAI as Inaugural Corporate Tenant

Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Innovation Center(opens in new window) (RIC) has secured its first corporate tenant, bringing the high-growth robotics unicorn FieldAI(opens in new window) to the university’s new research facility at Hazelwood Green. The move, announced ahead of the facility’s formal opening this week, embeds an industry leader in physical artificial intelligence into a 2,500-square-foot lab and office suite on the building’s second floor. Ali Agha "We've always believed that the best…

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Chancellor of Oxford University hosts special honorary degree ceremony

Rt Hon The Lord Hague of Richmond, CVO, Chancellor of Oxford University, has conferred honorary degrees on eight distinguished individuals at the Sheldonian Theatre today, one year on from his inauguration as Oxford’s 160th Chancellor. The event marks a longstanding tradition at the University, where the new Chancellor is invited to propose candidates for honorary degrees at a special ceremony to mark the start of their Chancellorship.I am delighted to honour eight exceptional individuals today,…

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New research shows high temperatures affect sex ratios at birth

Authored by Dr Jasmin Abdel Ghany, Nuffield Postdoctoral Prize Research Fellow at Nuffield College and Associate Member of the Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science and the Department of Sociology, along with Dr Joshua Wilde, Senior Scientist and Researcher, Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science, and Professor Ridhi Kashyap, Professor of Demography & Computational Social Science, Department of Sociology and Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science, the study analyses more than five million births across 33 sub-Saharan African countries and India. By linking large-scale survey data…

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U.S. Supreme Court Decision on Emergency Tariffs: Legal and Commercial Implications

On February 20, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, holding that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) does not authorize the U.S. President to impose broad based import tariffs. The ruling provides authoritative guidance on the limits of executive power in the trade context and has direct implications for businesses subject to U.S. tariffs, including Canadian exporters and importers. Key holdings…

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SFDR 2.0

Overview SFDR 2.0 proposes the replacement of the existing disclosure regime with formal product categorisations or labels. Specifically, it is proposed to replace the existing Article 8 and Article 9 designations with the following new voluntary categories for sustainability-related financial products: Transition (Article 7 of SFDR 2.0); ESG Basics (Article 8 of SFDR 2.0); and Sustainable (Article 9 of SFDR 2.0). The proposal also envisages further “Impact” and “Combined” categories.…

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2026 Lab Informatics Trends

Download the full 2026 Laboratory Informatics Trends Report here. This free trends report outlines industry perspectives and expert advice from our team of lab informatics consultants. You can view an excerpt of the report below, and if you’d like to discuss any of the trends or other challenges in the laboratory space, connect with our team today.   Key Laboratory Informatics Trends The laboratory informatics trends of 2026 highlight the…

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Can AI Help Humans with Empathy?

One of the main drivers of the current excitement around artificial intelligence is its uncanny ability to act almost human. Unlike the stiff chatbots of the past, recent models can more effectively respond to a user’s emotions with nuance and understanding. The effect is convincing enough that some people attribute complex human abilities such as empathy to these computerized companions. Companies have already capitalized upon this advance to deploy AI…

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Love Hurts: Distressed Commercial Real Estate Update — Courts Curtail Certain Landlord Rights

A pair of recent tenant-friendly bankruptcy court decisions have (1) limited the scope of landlord priority expense claims, and (2) made it easier for a tenant in bankruptcy to assume and assign a lease over its landlord’s objection. Knowing the current state of play with respect to distressed commercial real estate is essential for landlords and tenants alike to protect their rights and stay on top of shifts in jurisprudence. Delaware…

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From Crush to Commitment: Maturing Your AI Compliance Program

Employers and human resources departments nationwide are increasingly entering committed relationships with artificial intelligence (AI) tools. But as federal guidance shifts and state regulations multiply, employers must navigate a complex landscape to ensure they are exercising the caution and transparency required by law. This article provides an overview of key federal and state regulations, and outlines best practices employers should implement when using these tools. The Federal Foundation: Anti-Discrimination Laws…

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Be My (Beneficiary) Valentine: Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts

A Spousal Lifetime Access Trust (also known as a “SLAT”) is an irrevocable gift trust into which one spouse transfers assets for the benefit of the other spouse. Children and grandchildren are often additional beneficiaries of these trusts. It’s a gift to your sweetheart that keeps on giving, if structured and created properly. At various times in recent history, including the years leading up to the 2025 expected sunset of…

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Resilience video series: Building strength in uncertainty

Video Transcription Ciaran Flynn Hello, my name is Ciaran Flynn, and I’m Head of Governance and Consulting Services here at Arthur Cox. Welcome to our new series of videos, which will cover the more nuanced and complex aspects of resilience. Over the course of the series, we will take a closer look at how firms can build resilience frameworks that are not only compliant with relevant regulations, but are also…

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Selecting an Enterprise PLM Platform to Enable Product Lifecycle Transformation

Clarkston Consulting recently supported a water management and treatment solution company in selecting an enterprise PLM platform. Read a synopsis of the project below or download the full case study. Download the Selecting an Enterprise PLM Platform Case Study Here As a global leader in water management and treatment solutions, this client delivers innovative products across pool and spa equipment, residential water solutions, and commercial and industrial water systems. While the organization maintained a…

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Unpacking the Potential Implications of the TrumpRx-Pfizer Deal

TrumpRx.gov launched on February 5th. Our team unpacks its potential implications below. The White House announced a new direct-to-consumer (DTC) website, coined TrumpRx, for Americans to buy certain prescription drugs directly from a government website at a reduced price. Pfizer plans to offer some of its drugs on the site at the reduced rate, and in return, “gains a three-year grace period to exempt it from national security-related tariffs, as…

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Leading Inference Providers Cut AI Costs by up to 10x With Open Source Models on NVIDIA Blackwell

A diagnostic insight in healthcare. A character’s dialogue in an interactive game. An autonomous resolution from a customer service agent. Each of these AI-powered interactions is built on the same unit of intelligence: a token. Scaling these AI interactions requires businesses to consider whether they can afford more tokens. The answer lies in better tokenomics — which at its core is about driving down the cost of each token. This…

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Clinical trials regulation in Ireland and the EU: Key updates shaping 2025 and 2026

At both a national and EU level, measures have been taken over the past number of years to strengthen the European regulatory system and to ensure confidence, continued quality and safety. Enhanced competitiveness and speed of access by patients to therapies are key drivers. The proposal for a Biotech Act, published by the European Commission in late 2025 will also make important changes in the clinical trials regime. Ireland In…

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2026 Grocery Trends

Download the full 2026 Grocery Trends Report here. This free trends report outlines industry perspectives and expert advice from our team of retail industry consultants. You can view an excerpt of the report below, and if you’d like to discuss any of the trends or other challenges in the grocery space, connect with our team today.     Key Grocery Trends These grocery trends point to a common theme: maturity. Across AI,…

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Data and Digital Leadership Forum: Survey

60% not yet using Gen AI in DSAR or data review processes, despite 57% identifying time as the biggest challenge to review large volumes of data Nearly 70% cite “regulator guidance” or “clear human oversight and legal sign-off” as the measures that would make them most comfortable with the use of Gen AI in data review processes A survey conducted at the recent Data and Digital Leadership Forum, our annual…

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How Food Brands Are Rethinking Pricing and Value to Meet Today’s Consumer

In the food and beverage industry, post-COVID cost inflation has significantly influenced brand decisions in recent years. Companies strive to meet consumer demand for affordability and must manage their price levels to remain competitive. Leading brands like PepsiCo are setting the tone for this shift by cutting prices by up to 15% to ease everyday food costs.  Economic pressure on consumers, however, is only one half of the picture. In addition to preventing products from being too expensive, brands need to understand the values…

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Florida Attorney General Launches ‘CHINA Prevention Unit’ Targeting Foreign Adversary Data Sharing

On February 5, 2026, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced the creation of a dedicated “Consumer Harm from International Nefarious Actors” (CHINA) Prevention Unit within the Florida Office of the Attorney General. While the acronym is pointed, the CHINA Prevention Unit’s mandate is broad: to investigate and prosecute foreign corporations – specifically, those with ties to “foreign adversaries,” like China, that collect sensitive data from Floridians. This development marks a…

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Detecting Early ERP Project Risk Signals

Echo vs. Impact  Leaders who rely solely on formal reporting and project calendars are often late to recognize and respond to risk during an ERP implementation. Effective organizations are those that pay attention to behavioral and structural indicators before schedules slip, integrations fail, or downstream testing degrades.   ERP project risk rarely begins with missed milestones or red status reports; it develops earlier and is revealed through changes in how teams communicate, how they make commitments, and…

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Avadel Pharmaceuticals plc acquired by Alkermes plc

The consideration per share consisted of $21.00 in cash and one non-transferable contingent value right. The parties entered into a definitive agreement on 22 October 2025 (as amended on 18 November 2025) which provided for the acquisition to occur by way of scheme of arrangement through the High Court of Ireland. Avadel Pharmaceuticals plc and Alkermes plc are each biopharmaceutical companies headquartered in Ireland. The transaction completed on 12 February…

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