How to leak to a journalist

Nieman Lab – “Planning to leak? Read these tips first. There’s a lot out there to leak. The second Trump administration, historically unfriendly to the press, has thrown Washington into chaos. Tens of thousands of federal employees have been placed on leave or fired as billionaire Elon Musk’s DOGE tries to gut the government. And …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Free Speech, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Knowledge Management, Legal Research

2025 National Trade Estimate Killing US Economy

On March 31, 2025 the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) submitted the 2025 National Trade Estimate (NTE) to President Trump and Congress. The NTE is an annual report detailing foreign trade barriers faced by U.S. exporters and USTR’s efforts to reduce those barriers. …The findings of the 2025 NTE underscore President Trump’s …

Subjects: Economy, Financial System, Government Documents, Legal Research

Why Encryption Matters for Your Data Backups (And How to Do It Easily)

MakeUseOf: ” Why Backing Up Your Data Isn’t Enough How to Encrypt Local Backups Easily How to Encrypt Files for Cloud Backups What to Do After Encrypting Your Backups Backing up data is essential, but encrypting your files prevents unauthorized access. Encryption converts your files into unreadable data, ensuring that even if your backup is …

Subjects: Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, E-Records, Knowledge Management, Privacy

Ten weeks that shook the world

FT.com – On many fronts, and with deliberate haste, America is vaporising its soft power – “The US looks bound for a recession this year owing to the president’s actions. Civilisations are not murdered, said the historian Arnold Toynbee. They die from suicide. Though military clout and geographic fortune will sustain America, its republic is …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, E-Government, Economy, Education, Financial System, Government Documents, Health Care, Legal Research, Medicine

Inside Elite Law Firms, Protests and Quitting After Trump Deals

The New York Times [no paywall] – The discontent does not appear to be resonating with leaders at Paul Weiss and Skadden, but it could hamstring their recruitment efforts. Ever since the elite law firms Paul Weiss and Skadden reached deals with President Trump to scuttle executive orders that could have crippled their businesses, the …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Courts, Free Speech, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Marketing

NOAA All AWS Services will soon be offline

“We are so glad you joined us. Safeguarding Research & Culture (SRC) — Distributing Cultural Memory “As researchers we often say ‘we need the data’. Today, the data needs us.” — Kathy Reid. NOAA all services, specifically Amazon Web Servies (URGENT) – Requests AWS Services for NOAA will be going offline as soon as tomorrow …

Subjects: Censorship, Climate Change, E-Government, Environmental Law, Government Documents

DOGE Put a College Student in Charge of Using AI to Rewrite Regulations

Wired [no paywall] – A DOGE operative has been tasked with using AI to propose rewrites to the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s regulations—an effort sources are told will roll out across government…A young man with no government experience who has yet to even complete his undergraduate degree is working for Elon Musk’s so-called …

Subjects: AI, E-Government, E-Records, Education, Financial System, Government Documents, Housing, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research

The Science & Community Impacts Mapping Project (SCIMaP)

“The National Institutes of Health (NIH) funds crucial health research to address cancer, diabetes, dementia, and more. NIH funding also boosts the economy, returning >250% of the value invested. On Feb. 7th, 2025, the White House ordered across-the-board cuts to NIH funded research. This website shows how funding cuts reduce economic activity and employment nationwide.” …

Subjects: Censorship, Climate Change, E-Records, Economy, Education, Government Documents, Health Care, Medicine

How Digital Archivists Are Saving Public Information from the Memory Hole

IEEE – “Through clever usage of APIs, the Library Innovation Lab at Harvard Law School has created an archive of Data.gov, home to 311,000 public datasets In the three decades since Brewster Kahle spun up the nonprofit Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine, it has scaled up to include government websites and datasets—many of which are essential …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, E-Government, E-Records, Education, Energy, Environmental Law, Government Documents, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Libraries

How Donald Trump Throttled Big Law

The New Yorker [unpaywalled] – The President has two goals: to seek revenge and to intimidate lawyers challenging his agenda. Is a top firm’s deal with him a necessary act of survival or a damaging blow to the entire profession?…It took the Trump Administration only three weeks to accomplish this subjugation. First, they came for …

Subjects: Censorship, Economy, Education, Government Documents, Knowledge Management, Legal Research