A booming US stock market doesn’t benefit all racial and ethnic groups equally

Pew Research Center: “U.S. stock markets have been on a roll since late October, with shares trading at or near record highs. But the booming markets are likely to benefit White families more than families from other racial and ethnic groups. That’s because White families are the most likely to own publicly traded stocks, either …

Subjects: Economy, Financial System

This Company’s Surveillance Tech Makes Immigrants ‘Easy Pickings’ for Trump

The New York Times – [no paywall] “Geo Group, a private prison firm that makes digital tools to track immigrants, becomes one of the Trump administration’s big business winners as its tech is increasingly used in deportations…The use of Geo Group’s technology has made the company one of the Trump administration’s big business winners so …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, E-Records, Economy, Financial System, Government Documents, Legal Research, Privacy

Litigation Tracker: Legal Challenges to Trump Administration Actions

Update via Just Security – “This public resource tracks legal challenges to Trump administration actions. The Tracker is part of the Collection: Just Security’s Coverage of the Trump Administration’s Executive Actions. Readers may also be interested in signing up for our free Early Edition roundup of news and our end-of-day newsletter with Just Security articles …

Subjects: Government Documents, Legal Research

Google Files New Patent On Personal History-Based Search

Search Engine Journal: “Google recently filed a new patent for a way to provide search results based on a user’s browsing and email history. The patent outlines a new way to search within the context of a search engine, within an email interface, and through a voice-based assistant (referred to in the patent as a …

Subjects: Intellectual Property, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Privacy, Search Engines

Trump’s Personal Lawyer Is the One Shaking Down Big Law Firms

Follow up to Trump Using Another Executive Order to Take Revenge on Law Firms – The Daily Beast [unpaywalled]: “..Epshteyn has worked for Trump since 2016 and is a polarizing figure—even by the standards of Trumpland. He worked briefly for the firm Milbank LLP after graduating from law school but has never tried a case, according …

Subjects: Censorship, Government Documents, Legal Research

EU issues US-bound staff with burner phones over spying fears

“The European Commission is giving some of its US-bound staff burner phones and basic laptops to avoid cybersecurity risks, the Financial Times reported. Brussels typically reserves such measures for trips to Ukraine and China over fears of Russian or Chinese government espionage. Worries about American spying are the latest sign of worsening transatlantic ties in …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, E-Records, Economy, Financial System, Government Documents, Legal Research, Privacy, Social Media

The Many Ways Scientists Are Turning Birds Into Feathered Field Assistants

Scientists are increasingly using birds as research assistants. “Birds’ “perpetual movement and proclivity for remote locations” meant they used to pose many mysteries to science, Audubon reported, but growth in animal-tracking technology lets researchers not only learn about their movements and behaviors, but also use them to study other phenomena: High-flying frigate birds with GPS …

Subjects: Climate Change, Environmental Law

This Is How Universities Can Escape Trump’s Trap, if They Dare

Follow up to Climate and DEI Deleted From Government Websites, Federal Workers Fired, Colleges Erase Programs, Law Firms Blackballed, Holocaust Denied – The New York Times Opinion by M. Gessen [unlocked]: “Almost three months into the Trump administration’s war on universities, and a year and a half into the Republican Party’s organized campaign against the …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Economy, Education, Financial System

Meta silenced a whistleblower. Now she’s talking to Congress.

Washington Post [no paywall]: “Sarah Wynn-Williams tells the Senate Judiciary Committee that Mark Zuckerberg and his fellow executives were willing to “betray American values” to secure a foothold in China. A former global policy director at Meta told a Senate committee Wednesday that top executives at the social media giant were willing to undermine national …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Congress, Free Speech, Recommended Books, Search Engines, Social Media

Former federal worker from Ohio launches map tracking government cuts

Abby André, Director of the Impact Project | Doctoral Fellow, Lawyer, Professor, Data Visualization Expert – “I wanted to share this 91.7 WVXU/Cincinnati Public Radio story about The Impact Map, a tool I created to help visualize how federal employment, funding, and policy decisions affect our communities. With more than 5,300 data points—and growing—the map is …

Subjects: E-Records, Economy, Education, Energy, Environmental Law, Food and Nutrition, Government Documents, Knowledge Management, Legal Research

“A republic, if you can keep it” – but can the US keep it? How Trump is dismantling democracy

Christina Pagel – “Mapping out 69 actions that President Trump has taken in the last twelve weeks to undermine democracy, undermine the rule of law, attack enemies, suppress dissent and control information. Thomas Jefferson probably never said “eternal vigilance is the price of liberty”, but that doesn’t make it less true. Since President Trump’s second …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Congress, Courts, Economy, Government Documents, Legal Research, Legislation, Privacy