The parties in a Columbus, Ohio, cellsite dispute are close to reaching a settlement, said an order (docket 2:23-cv-00764) Tuesday from U.S. District Judge James Graham for Southern Ohio in Columbus staying all deadlines in the case. The stay includes defendant Thomas Branham’s deadline to respond to plaintiffs STC Two and Global Signal’s pending motion to dismiss (see 2305180032). Branham, who owns the property where STC Two has a cell tower, installed a padlock at the entrance of the tower site, in breach of his lease to STC Two, and refused to remove it. Branham continued to obstruct the Global Signal company’s access to the cellsite “in blatant violation” of the lease, which entitles its employees to access “24 hours per day, 7 days per week,” the complaint said. Branham said STC Two's tower, enclosed by metal fencing, wasn’t placed within the boundaries of the easement Branham granted, so STC Two employees and customers had to cut across Branham’s land to gain access.

The State Department needs to answer for media reports that it “held back” human rights sanctions and export controls on China following the U.S. discovery of a Chinese reconnaissance balloon in American airspace earlier this year (see 2302100072), said Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas. McCaul, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, cited a recent Reuters report that said the State Department was trying to “limit damage to the U.S.-China relationship” and pushed back on new trade restrictions.

Very little of a hearing on customs modernization focused on the issues CBP and the trade have focused on as they work on a modernization proposal. The agency and traders are talking about new kinds of advance data, expedited release for trusted traders, better harmonization of data requests from partner government agencies and CBP, and data sharing from CBP with rights holders on intellectual property violations, among other changes.

The FCC’s final order, NPRM and Further NPRM on the 12 GHz band had a number of changes, which were noted Thursday as commissioners approved the item 4-0 (see 2305180052). There were few changes to a 60 GHz order, also approved unanimously last week (see 2305170039), based on a second side-by-side comparison.

Many low-power TV broadcasters want the FCC to consider alternatives to Nielsen for determining broadcaster markets, and nearly every commenter objects to an agency proposal to base a station’s ability to maintain Class A status on its market not growing to over 95,000 households, according to numerous filings -- many nearly identical -- on FCC’s proposals for implementation of the Low Power Protection Act in docket 23-126. NAB joined the objections to the Class A language but said changing the designated market area (DMA) system could disrupt the ATSC 3.0 transition. “Expanding DMA definitions in this manner could have ramifications concerning network and syndicated programming exclusivity and cable carriage, and could inadvertently hinder the transition to ATSC 3.0 in nearby larger markets,” NAB said.

The California Public Utilities Commission could shut out many wireless providers from participating in a proposed state LifeLine pilot if it proceeds with proposed rules, the National Lifeline Association (NaLA) warned. The CPUC received comments Tuesday on a proposed decision to approve two pilot programs to stack California LifeLine and federal affordable connectivity program (ACP) benefits (docket R.20-02-008). Verizon cautioned the CPUC to allow “reasonable network management.”

The ATSC 3.0-focused public-private partnership announced by FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel will likely hold its first meetings in mid to late June, said ATSC President Madeleine Noland at a Media Institute Luncheon Tuesday (see 2304170056). NAB expects similar timing, a spokesperson told us. The Future of TV Initiative will consider possible solutions for ATSC 3.0 backward compatibility and what the eventual sunset of ATSC 1.0 will look like, Noland said. “A renewed focus by the FCC is very good news,” Noland said. “We need to chart a path forward together.”

The negotiations between Europe and the U.S. to create an arrangement that would discourage imports of dirty steel, or steel made from uneconomic excess capacity, "have a long way to go," American Iron and Steel Institute CEO Kevin Dempsey said, speaking to reporters May 16 at AISI's general meeting.

Byungmin Chae filed a petition May 9 for a rehearing of a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit opinion that landed him one question shy of passing the customs broker exam he took in April 2018. The multiple choice question asked which mail articles are not subject to CBP examination or inspection (Byungmin Chae v. Janet Yellen, Fed. Cir. # 22-2017).

The Border Trade Alliance is asking Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to stop inspection of trucks coming from Mexico immediately. In a letter sent last week, the group noted that Texas said it would stop the inspections after massive delays last year, but said there has been another round of inspections recently.