Heather Vogell

The Trump ally and DOGE chief is expected to turn his budget-slashing sights on the FAA’s little-known commercial spaceflight office, which has proposed fines and grounded SpaceX after explosions and other incidents.

Federal prosecutors allege that the landlords have used RealPage pricing software to collude and artificially raise rents. The legal action is the latest development stemming from a 2022 ProPublica investigation.

With new rules, Thailand joins three dozen countries that have taken steps to regulate toddler milk ads. The action follows a ProPublica investigation that detailed how the U.S. helped the formula industry fight regulation in 2017.

The lawsuit, which comes in the wake of a ProPublica investigation into the Texas company, accuses RealPage of taking part in an illegal price-fixing scheme to reduce competition among landlords to boost prices — and profits.

When the U.S. supply of baby formula collapsed in 2022, federal trade officials repeatedly argued against lifting the tariff on imports. Among their concerns: that it would raise “lots of questions from domestic dairy producers.”

U.S. officials have challenged baby formula regulations in more than half a dozen countries, sometimes after manufacturers complained. Critics say the efforts are undermining public health.

Health experts say formula marketing often makes misleading claims and prompts some mothers to prematurely give up breastfeeding. Yet the U.S. government has opposed advertising restrictions on the product around the globe.

These drinks, targeted to young kids, may promise unproven benefits like “improved brain development” or “improved immune function.” Yet the U.S. government has repeatedly fought against advertising restrictions on these products around the globe.

Records and interviews show that the U.S. government repeatedly used its muscle to advance the interests of large baby formula companies while thwarting the efforts of Thailand and other developing countries to safeguard children’s health.

After a ProPublica investigation, U.S. senators introduced a bill to curb “price fixing” linked to rent-setting software. “Setting prices with an algorithm is no different from doing it over cigars and whiskey in a private club,” said one sponsor.