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An Interview with the Data Rescue Project Steering Committee – “Federal data are an essential public good, enabling cutting-edge research and underpinning decision making by governments, businesses, and individuals. However, continued public access to these data is no longer assured as federal agencies have removed datasets from government websites. Librarians, archivists, and other information professionals …
Semafor – Global mail carriers suspended deliveries to the US in the face of uncertainty over new duties on low-cost packages. “US President Donald Trump last month ordered the end of the “de minimis” provision, which allowed goods valued under $800 to enter the US duty-free. The government closed the loophole for China and Hong …
The New York Times [no paywall] – “In his seven months back in office, President Trump has declared nine national emergencies, plus a “crime emergency” in Washington. Those emergency declarations have been used to justify hundreds of actions — including immigration measures, sweeping tariffs and energy deregulation — that would typically require congressional approval or …
Data manipulation within the US Federal Government. The Lancet Volume 406, Issue 10500p227-228. July 19, 2025 – “A US Department of Veterans Affairs dataset compiling veteran health-care use in 2021 was quietly amended on March 5, 2025. A column titled gender was renamed sex, and the words were also switched in the dataset title and …
NewsGuard Reality Check: Debunk: U.S. is One of 33 Countries That Uses Mail-in Ballots, Contrary to Trump and Pro-Kremlin Claims. What happened: Donald Trump and pro-Russian and conservative sources are falsely claiming that the United States is the only country that permits voting by mail, advancing the argument that the method leads to widespread corruption …
Visual Capitalist: “U.S. tariffs have climbed to an average rate of 18.6%—the highest since 1933. But what does this mean for everyday consumers? This visualization, developed in collaboration with the Hinrich Foundation, highlights major goods expected to face sustained price increases due to rising tariffs. Based on data from the Yale Budget Lab, it explores …
The Atlantic – Our picture book was pulled from library shelves in Florida [no paywall]: The argument being used to defend the ban threatens the right to read. By Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell. “In 2023, our book was one of thousands pulled from library shelves around the country, and as we write, an evolving …
Common Dreams: “It’s clear that Trump doesn’t want the public weighing in on these dangerous deregulatory initiatives,” said Katie Tracy of Public Citizen. On Friday, the General Services Administration—an independent agency that supports the functioning of the government bureaucracy—quietly eliminated a tool known as the POST Application Programming Interface (API) from the Regulations.gov website. Last …
American Prospect – The Trump administration’s war on reality will make it meaningfully difficult to understand the health of the economy in the coming months. If data is either not being collected or is no longer reliable, now that Trump has fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics as punishment for weak jobs …
“Robert B. Hubbell: On Monday [August 18, 2025], Trump contradicted a provision of the US Constitution that has remained unchanged since its effective date in 1788. Article I, Section 4, Clause 1 states: The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; …
“Today, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced a new statistics and data visualization page that includes statistics and graphics on key elements of the capital markets, such as initial public offerings, exempt offerings, corporate bond offerings, reporting issuers, municipal advisors, transfer agents, and household participation in the capital markets. The webpage provides statistics presented in …
Carbon Brief: “A “critical assessment” report commissioned by the Trump administration to justify a rollback of US climate regulations contains at least 100 false or misleading statements, according to a Carbon Brief factcheck involving dozens of leading climate scientists. The 140-page report – “A critical review of impacts of greenhouse gas emissions on the US …
