In certain situations, the U.S. government plants spy phones on people. In one case, the DEA sold encrypted BlackBerry phones to a suspected cocaine smuggler.

“If the government is distributing, effectively, bugging devices, without sufficient court oversight and authorization, I think that could really have a chilling effect on free expression, if people feel like they have to assume the risk that any phone they’re handed could have been bugged in a way that would violate their rights,” says Human Rights Watch researcher Sarah St. Vincent.

In recent disturbing (but not entirely surprising), it turns out that major media outlets don’t mention climate change. Over a two-week period from late June to early July, ABC, CBS, and NBC aired a combined 127 segments or weathercasts that discussed this summer’s heat wave. But only CBS mentioned climate change as a contributing factor.

There is overwhelming scientific evidence that human-induced climate change is exacerbating both the frequency and intensity of heat waves. Heat domes like the one that caused this recent heat wave are becoming more intense and more common, scientists have found. UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain, who has studied extreme weather patterns in California, said recent heat in California was unusual.

If an algorithm draws lines on a map, is that the same thing as land surveying? A Mississippi court is trying to answer this very question, thanks to a startup called Vizaline.

Since 2014, Vizaline, a startup based in Madison, Mississippi, has provided this very specific service to local banks: drawing polygons on satellite photos. Why would banks want this? Many banks lend money to facilitate real-estate acquisition, and, in this way, the bank can gain a better sense of precisely where this land is in relation to other property.

But Mississippi’s Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Surveyors says that it should be the state entity solely responsible for land surveying.

The US Department of Justice isn’t hip on the idea of AT&T and Time-Warner merging, so it’s contesting the government’s approval of the deal. The DOJ filed an appeal to overturn the merger approval over concerns it will reduce competition in the pay television market. Experts, however, don’t think there’s much hope for the appeal. CNBC said,

Craig Moffett of MoffettNathanson told CNBC’s “Fast Money” that given how decisive [Judge] Leon’s ruling was, there aren’t a lot of obvious arguments the government can make for its appeal. He said, however, that the Justice Department may try push back on the idea that AT&T wouldn’t take into consideration it is an integrated company when it is negotiating programming agreements.

Of course, AT&T and Time-Warner say the merger won’t stifle competition. If the court moves ahead with the appeal and grants a stay that’ll put the whole deal on hold, so it’s a safe bet AT&T is going to fight this in a big way.