A newsletter by Reuters and Westlaw

By Sara Merken

What's going on today?

And a little reminder, if you're enjoying the stories featured in this newsletter, don't forget that a Reuters subscription gives you unlimited access to all stories and fewer ads. Plus, no surprise price increases and you can cancel anytime. Sign up here.

REUTERS/Nathan Howard/File Photo

A federal judge referred prominent plaintiffs' law firm Hagens Berman and its managing partner to the DOJ for investigation, citing findings of “misconduct bordering on the criminal” in cases it brought over alleged injuries from the drug thalidomide.

U.S. District Judge Paul Diamond in Philadelphia said in his order that a court-appointed official uncovered a decade of alleged wrongdoing in the thalidomide litigation by the firm, managing partner Steve Berman and former partner Tyler Weaver. Diamond's ruling also referred Weaver, now at another firm, to the DOJ.

Berman and his firm have denied any wrongdoing. In a statement to Reuters, outside counsel retained by the firm said "there is no basis for sanctions, much less a criminal referral (which was not suggested or recommended by the discovery master)." An attorney for Weaver did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Read more about the case from Mike Scarcella and David Thomas.

REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz

Wall Street's chief regulator said the SEC should reform rules requiring disclosure of executive compensation and move to reduce the legal burdens facing smaller companies.

In an address at the New York Stock Exchange billed as a statement of his vision for the future of capital markets, SEC Chair Paul Atkins also previewed major themes in the agency's deregulatory policy agenda. Read more from Douglas Gillison and Ross Kerber.

President Trump pardoned former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez … Voters in Tennessee will choose their next representative in a special election that will affect Republicans' narrow grip on the U.S. House … Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr's hand-picked vaccine advisory committee will vote later this week on whether to delay hepatitis B shots for most American children … U.S. pop star Sabrina Carpenter demanded that the White House stop using her music … Hong Kong's leader said a judge-led committee will investigate the cause of the city's deadliest fire in decades. Plus, Trump promised a San Francisco crime crackdown. His administration did the opposite.