Research librarian Alejandro Paz and policy scholar Eric Nost, who belong to a network called the Public Environmental Data Partners, a coalition of nonprofits, archivists and researchers who rely on federal data in our analysis, advocacy and litigation, are working to ensure that data remains available to the public.
Atmospheric scientists Christine Wiedinmyer and
Since January 20, 2025 America has been catapulted into an unimaginable inflection point. Sabrina I. Pacifici chronicles seismic events in recent weeks which have upended America’s democracy, jeopardized our economy, financial system, national security, science and medical communities, and fractured our national identity, at home and around the world. This is a commentary, and a guide written by a law librarian and former federal employee who was the target of a similar purge by Trump in 2018, to what and who has been targeted and purged, an overview of the process used to do so, and a perspective on the impact of these sweeping, deeply damaging and likely illegal actions.
Effort to force federal civil service employees to resign uses format and statement Elon Musk sent to Twitter employees in 2022 asking them to pledge to being “extremely hardcore” or resign.” Agencies throughout the federal government, including the military and intelligence communities, as our global aid agency, USAID, are now in receipt of similar emails which are resignation offer letters.
Democracy, the Constitution, the Federal Government – All At Risk. Since his inauguration on January 20, 2025 Donald Trump has rapidly implemented key recommendations of Project 2025 using actions executed by non career government personnel as well conservative public policy think tank members to create chaos, instill fear in the workforce, and freeze the delivery of health and medical services, food and nutrition programs, critical scientific and medical research, and the security of our homeland. In light of the ongoing issuance of directives, orders, firings, freezes to government funding, immigration raids, threats of action against specific groups and communities, and the list goes on, this report by Sabrina I. Pacifici will be published in several parts, with updates added to include new documents, actions by courts and Congress, and additional details on programs impacted.
The past few decades, mounting scientific evidence has shown that as little as 1-2 alcoholic drinks per day can lead to increases in the likelihood of several cancers. This prompted the U.S. surgeon general, Dr. Vivek Murthy, to release a new Surgeon General Advisory on Jan. 3, 2025, warning about the link between alcohol and cancer. Nikki Crowley, Professor of Biology, Biomedical Engineering and Pharmacology at Penn State highlights the evidence and associated with the call for new cancer warning labels on alcoholic beverages.
The association between alcohol and cancer isn’t new news – scientists have been trying to determine the link for decades – yet most people aren’t aware of the risks and may only associate drinking with liver disease like cirrhosis. In a 2019 survey from the American Institute for Cancer Research, less than half of Americans identified alcohol as a risk factor for cancer.
The 2024 election results have prompted discussion about the effectiveness of “guardrails” that might restrain Presidential activities that could harm the nation. Jerry Lawson’s review notes that Glenn Fine’s new book, Watchdogs: Inspectors General and the Battle of Honest and Accountable Government is a timely and welcome contribution to the national debate. Fine has had considerable experience with Offices of Inspectors General (OIGs), one of the key institutions that serve as limits to corrupt or overreaching Executive Branch actions.
The reelection of former president Donald Trump is almost certain to disrupt the future of reproductive rights in the U.S. The president-elect has pledged to leave abortion up to states but could appoint anti-abortion leaders to federal positions or begin enforcing anachronistic laws that limit access. Meanwhile, measures to protect or expand abortion access on Election Day failed in Florida, Nebraska and South Dakota, and nearly 20 other states have banned or severely restricted abortion since the 2022 overturn of Roe v. Wade. This important, timely and comprehensive guide to keeping your plans private through every step of an abortion in any state, including Florida and South Dakota is by Tomas Apodaca.
In this Opinion, researched and authored by Michael Ravnitzky, he says that the Heritage Foundation’s current public records campaign is an abuse of the FOIA process. In recent years, the Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project and its publishing spinoff, The Daily Signal, have filed an unprecedented and overwhelming number of FOIA requests – 65,000 according to Reuters and more than 50,000 according to ProPublica. According to recent articles, the goal of the requests is to scrutinize government employees’ communications, to identify (for example, individuals using keywords or phrases such as “climate change”, “reduction in force” or DEI) and potentially remove civil servants perceived as obstructive to Trump’s agenda, in preparation for a potential Trump administration.
Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, finance, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex and wide ranging ways technology is used to compromise and diminish our privacy and online security, often without our situational awareness. Six highlights from this week: Remote Work: A Ticking Time Bomb Waiting to be Exploited; Microsoft to overhaul Windows security after outage hits hospitals; How safe is Telegram?; Wyze’s new AI feature lets users search security cam footage; Safeguarding Subsea Cables Protecting Cyber Infrastructure amid Great Power Competition; and When A.I.’s Output Is a Threat to A.I. Itself.