Category «Congress»

Treasury has borrowed $155 billion every month of this fiscal year

Fortune via Yahoo Finance – and is now paying $24 billion a week in interest on its debts: “Despite concerns from debt hawks, the U.S. government is continuing to borrow at pace: For the fiscal year of 2026 so far, the federal deficit has totaled just under $1.4 trillion. The first nine months of this …

Subjects: Congress, Defense, Economy, Education, Environmental Law, Financial System, Government Documents, Health Care

Whistleblower Letter alleging Kennedy Center Mismanagement

Jim Acosta – Whistleblower Document Dump Accuses Trump Administration of Damaging Kennedy Center with No-Bid Contracts and Shoddy Work. “Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse released the documents which state facility may now require “extensive remediation.” It is more than just a tacky tarp that is plaguing the Kennedy Center. According to a large trove of …

Subjects: Congress, E-Records, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research

Trump Pushes Out Remaining Members of Bipartisan Election Commission Ahead of Midterms

ProPublica: “President Donald Trump has pushed out the three remaining members of the Election Assistance Commission, leaving the bipartisan agency in limbo as he rushes to remake how elections are run before this year’s midterms. Trump fired Benjamin Hovland and Thomas Hicks, the Democrats on the commission, multiple sources familiar with the matter told ProPublica, …

Subjects: Censorship, Congress, Courts, E-Records, Free Speech, Government Documents, Legal Research

A New AI Tool Lets Candidates See What Chatbots Are Telling Voters

NOTUS: “In California’s gubernatorial primary, Tom Steyer had the biggest war chest in a crowded field of Democrats, spending more than $200 million out of his own pocket. But money alone wasn’t enough — he ended up placing third, falling just short in his quest to compete for November’s general election. A contributing factor, according …

Subjects: AI, Congress, Education, Government Documents, Internet, Knowledge Management

There Is No Going Back’: The Inside Story of Europe’s Rupture With America.

WSJ Gift Article: “This article is the first of two parts. “We are drawing a line here,” began Emmanuel Macron, president of France, according to several leaders present and their most senior aides. For a year, America’s closest allies had tried to placate Trump with a mix of flattery and concessions on mutual-defense and trade …

Subjects: Congress, Defense, Government Documents, Legal Research

Trump Administration’s Continued War Against Science, Research, Public Health and the Rule of Law – Part 10

Trump Administration’s Continued War Against Science, Research, Public Health and the Rule of Law – Part 10. This article is the tenth in a series by Sabrina I. Pacifici focused on the Trump administration’s unrelenting policy of attacking science, healthcare, public health and the rule of law. The cornerstone of this series are topical highlights …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Congress, Education, Energy, Environmental Law, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Knowledge Management, Legal Research

The Many Ways Trump Is Trying to Tip the Scales for the Midterms

The New York Times Gift Article: “President Trump is trying to use the levers of the federal government, along with personal influence over state and local lawmakers, to reshape the rules governing the 2026 midterms and future elections in extraordinary ways. Many of these efforts have been blocked by courts, stymied by the Constitution or …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Congress, Economy, Financial System, Government Documents

The cost of being American

Brookings Institute: As the country heads into its 250th birthday this weekend, more than 40% of American households are struggling to make ends meet, and the reasons why look different depending on where you live, what you drive, and how you get to work. To understand why, Brookings researchers delved into the details—how the rising …

Subjects: Climate Change, Congress, Economy, Energy, Environmental Law, Government Documents, Transportation

Reckoning with the Political Economy of AI: Avoiding Decoys in Pursuit of Accountability

Reckoning with the Political Economy of AI: Avoiding Decoys in Pursuit of Accountability. Authors: Janet Vertesi, danah boyd, Alex S Taylor, Benjamin ShestakofskyAuthors Info & Claims. FAccT ’26: The 2026 ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency. Pages 2186 – 2205. https://doi.org/10.1145/3805689.3806739. Published: 25 June 2026 “The Project of AI is a world-building endeavor, wherein …

Subjects: AI, Congress, Data Governance, Legal Research, Legislation

How Trump has prospered during his second presidency

Washington Post no paywall: “Donald Trump’s latest financial disclosure [link added by beSpacific – not included in the article] shows he earned at least $1.2 billion in 2025 from cryptocurrency and memecoin ventures. The filing reports more than $588 million in income from World Liberty Financial, the crypto company co-founded by Trump, his sons, and …

Subjects: Congress, Courts, Cryptocurrency, Economy, Financial System, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research

What Online Platforms Can and Must Do to Help Mitigate Escalating Political Violence

Tech Policy: “Political violence is on the rise in the United States. According to a summary of key trends from the Princeton University Bridging Divides Initiative, this rise is reflected across a range of different statistics, from an increase in targeted violence and assassination attempts to an increase in the overall volume of threats and …

Subjects: Congress, Courts, Government Documents, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Social Media

Report sheds light on ICE’s booming arsenal of hi-tech surveillance tools

The Guardian: “A new report sheds light on the unprecedented growth of the US government’s immigration surveillance arsenal, revealing fresh details about how spending on technology and AI tools to find and track migrants has soared to record levels during Donald Trump’s second term. The report, released this week, analyzed US Immigration and Customs Enforcement …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Congress, Cybersecurity, E-Records, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research, Privacy