The lawsuit also alleges violations of the Washington Consumer Protection Act, which prohibits unfair and deceptive acts. “Nintendo engaged in unfair acts by: (i) raising prices due to tariffs; (ii) failing to disclose that it intended to seek tariff refunds; and (iii) retaining tariff refunds despite having passed the costs to its customers,” the lawsuit said.

Of course, Nintendo didn’t know when it raised prices that the Supreme Court would strike down the tariffs the next year. It’s also unclear what it intends to do with tariff refunds that it will presumably receive sometime in the next 60 to 90 days.

Nintendo raised prices for Switch 2 accessories

The lawsuit points to price increases for Nintendo Switch 2 accessories that were announced in April 2025. The increases ranged from $1 to $10 per product. “For example, Nintendo raised the price of the Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller from $79.99 to $84.99 and the Nintendo Switch 2 Dock Set from $109.99 to $119.99,” the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit also mentions the August 2025 increases for the original Switch console, which ranged from $30 to $50 depending on the model. Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa told investors in May 2025 that “if tariffs are imposed, we recognize them as a part of the cost and incorporate them into the price,” the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit seeks a return “of all monies wrongfully obtained by Defendant.” It didn’t ask for a specific amount in damages, but said that federal court is the appropriate venue because the class includes people from multiple states and “the amount in controversy exceeds $5,000,000.” Nintendo of America is headquartered in the Washington district where the complaint was filed.

Even if the Trump administration issues all owed refunds, Nintendo and other companies will still have an ongoing tariff problem. Trump reacted to his Supreme Court loss by imposing a 10 percent tariff, claiming he has the authority to do so under the Trade Act of 1974, and more Trade Act tariffs could be on the way. States have sued to block Trump’s new tariffs, and there may be another long round of litigation over whether the president can issue tariffs under the Trade Act.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/04/lawsuit-nintendo-is-getting-tariff-refunds-its-customers-should-get-them-instead/

The lawsuit also alleges violations of the Washington Consumer Protection Act, which prohibits unfair and deceptive acts. “Nintendo engaged in unfair acts by: (i) raising prices due to tariffs; (ii) failing to disclose that it intended to seek tariff refunds; and (iii) retaining tariff refunds despite having passed the costs to its customers,” the lawsuit said.

Of course, Nintendo didn’t know when it raised prices that the Supreme Court would strike down the tariffs the next year. It’s also unclear what it intends to do with tariff refunds that it will presumably receive sometime in the next 60 to 90 days.

Nintendo raised prices for Switch 2 accessories

The lawsuit points to price increases for Nintendo Switch 2 accessories that were announced in April 2025. The increases ranged from $1 to $10 per product. “For example, Nintendo raised the price of the Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller from $79.99 to $84.99 and the Nintendo Switch 2 Dock Set from $109.99 to $119.99,” the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit also mentions the August 2025 increases for the original Switch console, which ranged from $30 to $50 depending on the model. Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa told investors in May 2025 that “if tariffs are imposed, we recognize them as a part of the cost and incorporate them into the price,” the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit seeks a return “of all monies wrongfully obtained by Defendant.” It didn’t ask for a specific amount in damages, but said that federal court is the appropriate venue because the class includes people from multiple states and “the amount in controversy exceeds $5,000,000.” Nintendo of America is headquartered in the Washington district where the complaint was filed.

Even if the Trump administration issues all owed refunds, Nintendo and other companies will still have an ongoing tariff problem. Trump reacted to his Supreme Court loss by imposing a 10 percent tariff, claiming he has the authority to do so under the Trade Act of 1974, and more Trade Act tariffs could be on the way. States have sued to block Trump’s new tariffs, and there may be another long round of litigation over whether the president can issue tariffs under the Trade Act.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/04/lawsuit-nintendo-is-getting-tariff-refunds-its-customers-should-get-them-instead/

McCasland disappeared about six days after Trump announced that he planned to release files related to UFOs and aliens, the NY Post reported. Police searching for McCasland told the NY Post that they’ve received “some tips with some outlandish theories, conspiracy theories,” but promised that “we will look into everything.”

Another former US Air Force member, intelligence officer Matthew James Sullivan, died in 2024 “before he could testify in a federal whistleblower case about UFOs,” CNN reported. That death is a suspected suicide, but Rep. Burlison told CNN he considered the circumstances suspicious.

Families, lawmaker doubt tabloid links

Law enforcement has yet to find any connections between the deaths and disappearances, with cases varying widely in circumstances, CNN reported. While several scientists’ cases seem to follow a similar pattern, two other cases involve fatal shootings of scientists where suspects have been arrested and charged, CNN reported. At least one member of the House committee launching the probe, Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-Va.), expressed doubts that any links will be found.

“The United States has thousands of nuclear scientists and nuclear experts,” Walkinshaw told CNN. “It’s not the kind of nuclear program that potentially a foreign adversary could significantly impact by targeting 10 individuals.”

Families of two scientists have “pointed to preexisting medical conditions or personal struggles as explanations.” Hicks’ daughter, Julia Hicks, told CNN that she couldn’t help but laugh at the conspiracy theory the tabloids have raised, despite the probe suggesting that it’s now “getting serious.”

“From what I know of my dad, there’s no train of logic to follow that would implicate him in this potential federal investigation,” she said. “I don’t understand the connection between my dad’s death and the other missing scientists.”

Similarly, the family of Amy Eskridge—who cofounded the Institute for Exotic Science, a facility experimenting with anti-gravity technology—has pushed back on recent efforts to link her 2022 death to the conspiracy.

“People should realize that scientists die also and not make too much of this,” the family told CNN.

But some lawmakers suspect foul play regardless.

“It’s very unlikely that this is a coincidence,” Comer told Fox News on Sunday, while confirming that the probe would remain a top priority for his committee.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/04/tabloid-reports-linking-10-missing-and-dead-scientists-spur-fbi-probe/

McCasland disappeared about six days after Trump announced that he planned to release files related to UFOs and aliens, the NY Post reported. Police searching for McCasland told the NY Post that they’ve received “some tips with some outlandish theories, conspiracy theories,” but promised that “we will look into everything.”

Another former US Air Force member, intelligence officer Matthew James Sullivan, died in 2024 “before he could testify in a federal whistleblower case about UFOs,” CNN reported. That death is a suspected suicide, but Rep. Burlison told CNN he considered the circumstances suspicious.

Families, lawmaker doubt tabloid links

Law enforcement has yet to find any connections between the deaths and disappearances, with cases varying widely in circumstances, CNN reported. While several scientists’ cases seem to follow a similar pattern, two other cases involve fatal shootings of scientists where suspects have been arrested and charged, CNN reported. At least one member of the House committee launching the probe, Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-Va.), expressed doubts that any links will be found.

“The United States has thousands of nuclear scientists and nuclear experts,” Walkinshaw told CNN. “It’s not the kind of nuclear program that potentially a foreign adversary could significantly impact by targeting 10 individuals.”

Families of two scientists have “pointed to preexisting medical conditions or personal struggles as explanations.” Hicks’ daughter, Julia Hicks, told CNN that she couldn’t help but laugh at the conspiracy theory the tabloids have raised, despite the probe suggesting that it’s now “getting serious.”

“From what I know of my dad, there’s no train of logic to follow that would implicate him in this potential federal investigation,” she said. “I don’t understand the connection between my dad’s death and the other missing scientists.”

Similarly, the family of Amy Eskridge—who cofounded the Institute for Exotic Science, a facility experimenting with anti-gravity technology—has pushed back on recent efforts to link her 2022 death to the conspiracy.

“People should realize that scientists die also and not make too much of this,” the family told CNN.

But some lawmakers suspect foul play regardless.

“It’s very unlikely that this is a coincidence,” Comer told Fox News on Sunday, while confirming that the probe would remain a top priority for his committee.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/04/tabloid-reports-linking-10-missing-and-dead-scientists-spur-fbi-probe/

Under the newly adopted policies, the Corps of Engineers must weigh the energy produced per acre for any projects under its oversight against the potential impact of alternative uses of the land. The Department of the Interior was ordered to make a similar consideration.

For the purposes of a temporary injunction, that turned out to be enough. Given this justification, Casper said she could not conclude that the suing organizations were likely to win on their claims that the policy was arbitrary and capricious. That determination would have to await a full trial.

But it won’t, because those rules turned out to be illegal for other reasons.

Casper’s ruling notes that the laws governing the use of public lands require agencies to weigh multiple factors, balancing the benefits of different uses versus preservation. The rules instituted at Interior and the Corps of Engineers made a simple energy-density calculation the sole determinant of whether a project could proceed, sidestepping the process set forth in the relevant laws. As such, those policies also merit an injunction.

At least for the parties involved in the suit, none of the hurdles the Trump administration placed on renewable energy will apply. And the groups involved in the suit included many renewable energy developers*. That said, involved agencies could still create informal obstacles without violating the injunction, such as quietly slowing the pace of project approvals. The government can also potentially appeal this injunction.

So while the ruling is good news, it’s not a guarantee that the growth of renewables will continue unhindered over the next several years.

* The full list of plaintiffs: Clean Grid Alliance, Alliance For Clean Energy New York, Renew Northeast, Mid-Atlantic Renewable Energy Coalition Action, Renewable Northwest, Carolinas Clean Energy Business Association, Southern Renewable Energy Association, Interwest Energy Alliance.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/04/new-court-ruling-blocks-many-of-the-governments-anti-renewable-policies/

So last January, Sam created Emily Hart, a registered nurse and Jennifer Lawrence look-alike. On an Instagram account for Emily, @emily_hart.nurse, Sam posted photos of her ice fishing, drinking Coors Light, and shooting off a few rounds at the rifle range, with emoji-laden captions like “If you want a reason to unfollow: Christ is king, abortion is murder, and all illegals must be deported,” and “POV: You were assigned intelligent at birth, but you identify as liberal <clown emoji>.”

Though Sam has never lived in the United States, he became an assiduous student of MAGA ideology. “Every day I’d write something pro-Christian, pro-Second Amendment, pro-life, anti-abortion, anti-woke, and anti-immigration,” he tells me.

The grift seemed almost too obvious, but to Sam’s astonishment, he says the account “blew up.”

“Every Reel I posted was getting 3 million views, 5 million views, 10 million views. The algorithm loved it.” he claims. Within a month, Emily Hart had more than 10,000 Instagram followers, many of whom also subscribed to her softcore AI-generated content on the OnlyFans competitor Fanvue. And between Fanvue subscriptions and selling MAGA-themed T-shirts (one sample message reads ”PTSD: Pretty Tired of Stupid Democrats”), Sam estimates he was making a few thousand dollars a month.

“I was spending maybe 30 to 50 minutes of my day, and I was making good money for a medical student,” he says. “In India, even in professional jobs, you can’t make this amount of money. I haven’t seen any easier way to make money online.”

Emily Hart is one of a slew of AI-generated hot girl MAGA influencers inundating social media, thanks to technologically savvy young men like Sam capitalizing both on pro-Trump sentiment and Americans’ relative lack of digital literacy.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/04/indian-med-student-rakes-in-thousands-with-ai-generated-maga-hottie/

A coalition of US states sued Trump in response to the 10 percent tariff. “Having lost the battle on IEEPA, the President now dusts off a separate statute: Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, 19 U.S.C. § 2132, which is another statute that has never been used to impose tariffs. Indeed, it has never been used at all,” the states’ lawsuit said.

The Trump administration also “opened investigations into dozens of other countries’ trade practices” under another provision of the Trade Act, and these “inquiries are expected to result in tariffs similar in magnitude to those that the Supreme Court struck down,” The New York Times article said.

Trade group sees problem in refund system

There is a separate dispute over who should receive refunds in cases where surety bonds were issued for imports but the importer or broker failed to pay the tariff. A trade group that represents surety and insurance professionals told the court on Friday that its members have paid millions of dollars to CBP “on entries where importers (or their brokers) have failed to pay estimated or liquidated tariffs issued under the authority of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.”

“Customs has not included (or even mentioned) sureties in its development of CAPE and its reports to this Court, despite the fact that limiting refunds to importers and brokers will inevitably lead to IEEPA tariff refunds being issued to importers, instead of to the sureties who actually paid the IEEPA tariffs directly to Customs,” the International Trade Surety Association said in the court filing.

The group said it “advised Customs of the need to include sureties in Phase One of CAPE. While Customs has acknowledged our concerns, they have not indicated to us that the omission will be corrected, nor has Customs mentioned sureties or this issue in its presentations to the Court.”

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/04/us-opens-refund-portal-to-start-paying-back-trumps-illegal-tariffs/

“Moore intentionally accessed the Supreme Court’s electronic filing system without authorization using the stolen credentials of an authorized user (‘GS’) on 25 different days, sometimes returning to the site multiple times on the same day,” according to a government court filing. Moore used the access to obtain GS’s full name, email address, phone number, home address, date of birth, and private answers the person had given to three security questions.

“On July 29, August 18, and November 28, 2023, Moore publicly posted on his Instagram account, which used the handle ‘@ihackedthegovernment,’ screenshots of GS’s home page on the Supreme Court electronic filing system. Clearly visible to the public in the screenshots were GS’s name and a list of all of GS’s current and past electronic filing records,” the court filing said.

Moore similarly used stolen credentials to access one person’s My AmeriCorps account. He publicly posted the My AmeriCorps user’s name, date of birth, email address, home address, phone number, citizenship status, veteran status, service history, and the last four digits of his Social Security number, the government said.

Moore posted Marine veteran’s personal info

Moore is also said to have used stolen login credentials of a US Marine Corps veteran identified as “HW” to access the Department of Veterans Affairs ‘My HealtheVet’ platform on five different days. He obtained HW’s personal information, including prescribed medications and blood type.

“On October 13, 2023, Moore disclosed HW’s individually identifiable health information when he sent an associate a screenshot from HW’s MyHealtheVet account that identified HW and showed the medications he had been prescribed,” the government said. Moore then used his Instagram account to publicly post “HW’s personal information, including his full name, home address, service branch, email address, phone number, and blood type.”

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/04/man-with-ihackedthegovernment-instagram-account-tells-judge-i-made-a-mistake/

The Trump administration last month decided to drop out of the case that began during the Biden era. The US blindsided states by announcing a settlement with Live Nation during the trial, forcing states to take over the lead role.

“The Trump administration gave up the fight and wanted to let these companies off the hook easily,” Arizona AG Kris Mayes said today. “But we kept fighting for every Arizonan who has been charged too much by this illegal monopoly and we won.”

The Trump administration agreed to stop pursuing a breakup of Live Nation and Ticketmaster as part of the settlement. The terms reportedly included changes to business practices and civil penalties of up to $280 million for states that opted to join the settlement. But only six states joined the deal, and they will reportedly receive a total of $18.6 million.

Ex-Trump official congratulates state AGs

States that joined the Trump administration’s settlement are Arkansas, Iowa, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and South Dakota. The litigation against Live Nation was continued by the District of Columbia and 33 states: Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Connecticut, New York, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

Gail Slater, a former assistant attorney general who led the US Justice Department’s antitrust division from March 2025 to February 2026, congratulated states on the win. Slater was a Trump nominee who seemed to want tougher antitrust enforcement, but resigned after less than a year. News reports said she was forced to leave after disputes with key Trump officials.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/04/jury-finds-live-nation-ticketmaster-is-illegal-monopoly-that-overcharged-fans/

Chinese drone companies DJI, the market share leader, and its smaller rival Autel have yet to receive exemptions. “If the router Conditional Approval process follows a similar pattern, Chinese-origin manufacturers like TP-Link may face a presumptive denial, while companies with manufacturing in allied nations like Taiwan, Vietnam, or South Korea could find an easier path,” the Global Electronics Association report said. This easier path for non-Chinese companies is “by no means guaranteed,” the report said.

TP-Link was founded in China but relocated to the US in 2024. It was already facing the possibility of a US ban over a year before the FCC’s industry-wide router action, but the Trump administration never formalized a TP-Link ban. TP-Link may hope its relocation to the US will help it win an exemption, but the Global Electronics Association report said the drone process suggests that “Chinese-origin manufacturers may face a presumptive denial regardless of corporate restructuring.”

Fast approvals key for router supply, group says

Even if the Trump administration is inclined to approve most exemption requests, the industry trade group’s report said there are doubts about how fast the administration can process applications for the dozens of new models introduced annually.

“Existing channel stock of previously authorized models may last three to six months, creating a window during which the market can absorb the disruption, but that window closes if the approval process proves as restrictive or slow as the drone precedent suggests,” the report said. The system “introduces a structural advantage for the largest firms” because “documentation and onshoring obligations are extensive and smaller manufacturers and startups may lack the resources to navigate the process,” it said.

The industry already “reduc[ed] Chinese-origin imports from 24 percent of units in 2019 to 4 percent in 2025” in a shift that cost billions and required “full cooperation of contract manufacturing ecosystems across Southeast Asia,” the report said. “The Conditional Approval framework now asks the industry to execute a second migration of comparable magnitude, this time to domestic soil, on a timeline measured in quarters rather than years, and without the established manufacturing ecosystems, workforce pipelines, or supplier networks that made the first migration possible.”

The report warned that if the approval process isn’t quick, residential consumers and home Internet service providers “will face constrained selection and delayed access to next-generation products at precisely the moment Wi-Fi 7 adoption should be accelerating.”

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/04/fcc-exempts-netgear-from-ban-on-foreign-routers-doesnt-explain-why/