Bloomberg [unpaywalled] – “FBI leaders have warned that they believe hackers who broke into AT&T Inc.’s system last year stole months of their agents’ call and text logs, setting off a race within the bureau to protect the identities of confidential informants, a document reviewed by Bloomberg News shows. FBI officials told agents across the… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Government Documents
Toyota exposed as major funder of climate change deniers
Raw Story: “Nearly three decades after its introduction, the hybrid Toyota Prius is still associated with environmental action and the scientific consensus that fossil fuel emissions, including those from vehicles, must be reduced to avoid the worst effects of planetary heating. But a Tuesday report from watchdog group Public Citizen reveals how Toyota has spent… Continue Reading
When Do Parties Lie? Misinformation and Radical-Right Populism Across 26 Countries
Törnberg, P., & Chueri, J. (2025). When Do Parties Lie? Misinformation and Radical-Right Populism Across 26 Countries. The International Journal of Press/Politics, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/19401612241311886 “The spread of misinformation has emerged as a global concern. Academic attention has recently shifted to emphasize the role of political elites as drivers of misinformation. Yet, little is known of… Continue Reading
What Jack Smith Didn’t Say about the January 6 Investigation
Follow up to Special Counsel Report Says Trump Would Have Been Convicted in Election Case – critical facts and extensive commentary documentation via Emptywheel – “As part of Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein’s summary of the Jack Smith report, they argued that “Smith [came] to Garland’s defense regarding his conduct of the January 6 investigation… Continue Reading
Big 3 Pharmacy Benefit Manager charging enormous markups on dozens of lifesaving drugs
“The Federal Trade Commission today published a second interim staff report on the prescription drug middleman industry, which focuses on pharmacy benefit managers’ (PBMs) influence over specialty generic drugs, including significant price markups by PBMs for cancer, HIV, and a variety of other critical drugs. Staff’s latest report found that the ‘Big 3 PBMs’—Caremark Rx,… Continue Reading
How a major bank cheated its customers out of $2 billion
Popular Information: “An explosive new lawsuit filed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) alleges that Capital One bank cheated its customers out of $2 billion. According to the lawsuit, Capital One deceived and abused its depositors, baiting them with promises of high interest rates before switching the terms and paying little interest. The CFPB… Continue Reading
The home insurance crisis can’t be fixed with money alone
Semafor: “The devastating wildfires that are sweeping Los Angeles may accelerate the flight of home insurance companies from California in spite of recent regulatory changes aimed at retaining them, the state’s previous top insurance official told Semafor. At least two major fires are still raging largely uncontained, aided by ongoing high winds, and 24 people… Continue Reading
Special Counsel Report Says Trump Would Have Been Convicted in Election Case
The New York Times – gift article “…The Justice Department delivered the 137-page volume [link provided by DOJ – https://www.justice.gov/storage/Report-of-Special-Counsel-Smith-Volume-1-January-2025.pdf]— representing half of Mr. Smith’s overall final report, with the volume about Mr. Trump’s other federal case, accusing him of mishandling classified documents, still confidential — to Congress just after midnight on Tuesday. The former… Continue Reading
Inside the Black Box of Predictive Travel Surveillance
Wired – “Behind the scenes, companies and governments are feeding a trove of data about international travelers into opaque AI tools that aim to predict who’s safe—and who’s a threat… In Europe, at least four technology companies—Idemia, SITA, Travizory, and WCC—offer governments around the world software that uses algorithms on traveler data to profile passengers.… Continue Reading
Strict Scrutiny
“A podcast about the United States Supreme Court and the legal culture that surrounds it. Hosted by three badass constitutional law professors– Leah Litman, Kate Shaw, and Melissa Murray– Strict Scrutiny provides in-depth, accessible, and irreverent analysis of the Supreme Court and its cases, culture, and personalities. Each week, Leah, Kate, and Melissa break down… Continue Reading
Search the BIRLS Database
“Department of Veterans Affairs (the VA). It provides an index to basic biographical information on more than 18 million deceased American veterans who received some sort of veterans benefits in their lifetime, including health care, disability or life insurance policies, educational benefits (the GI Bill), mortgage assistance (VA loans), and more. The BIRLS database includes… Continue Reading
FOIA Fellows as Freedom Fighters
Jack Wroldsen, FOIA Fellows as Freedom Fighters: An Independent and Privately Funded FOIA Commission of Rotating Professionals (Oct. 31, 2024). 108 Marquette L. Rev. (forthcoming 2025), available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=5043146 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5043146. “The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is a hallmark of U.S. democracy, designed as an outsider element that foists transparency on a government… Continue Reading
