Tootfinder

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr tells a Senate committee the FCC "is not an independent agency"; the agency removed "independent agency" from its site as he testified (Axios)
https://www.axios.com/2025/12/17/brendan-carr-fcc-independent-se…

FCC chair suggests agency isn't independent, word cut from mission statement
The statement speaks to a broader trend of regulatory agencies losing power to the executive branch during the Trump era.

Early winners in 2026 NFL free agency: Eight players making bank with contract-year performances https://www.nfl.com/news/early-winners-in-2026-nfl-free-agency-eight-players-making-bank-with-contract-year-performances<…

Javonte Williams wants strong finish, offers insight into free agency https://www.dallascowboys.com/news/javonte-williams-wants-strong-finish-offers-insight-into-free-agency

Head of workplace rights agency urges white men to report discrimination | Financial Post
https://financialpost.com/pmn/head-of-workplace-rights-agency-urges-white-men-to-report-discrimination

The Færdselsstyrelsen
(Danish Road Traffic Authority)
is becoming the first agency to pilot SIA Open,
a government-wide project by Statens IT
(Danish Governmental IT Agency)
designed to replace Microsoft services with open source alternatives.
With this, they are not stopping at just Office apps.
Færdselsstyrelsen will be replacing both the Windows operating system and Microsoft's suite of applications
(Word, Excel, Teams, and Outlook)

Denmark Begins Its Exit from Microsoft — and This Is Just the Start
The move is part of a government-wide effort to reduce dependency on Microsoft software. The traffic department's move is just the beginning.

French government always talks about technological sovereignty…
https://www.lemonde.fr/en/france/article/2025/12/15/us-tech-firm-palantir-extends-deal-with-french-intelligence-agency_6748523_7.html

Bidding wars for Mac Jones, Fernando Mendoza? Setting stage for 2026 NFL QB carousel https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6896384/2025/12/19/nfl-quarterbacks-2026-draft-trade-free-agency-fernando-mendoza-mac-jones/

FEMA to Texas? Disaster agency mulls move to Lone Star State (Thomas Frank/Politico)
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/11/17/fema-to-texas-disaster-agency-mulls-move-to-lone-star-state-politico-00654769
http://www.memeorandum.com/251117/p142#a251117p142

In acht Tagen spreche ich im #39C3 Sendezentrum im c’t uplink Podcast mit @… und anderen Gästen über #DigitaleSouveränität.
Habt Ihr dazu in letzter Z…

"…turns out, if you’re hiring for…pariah agency using nakedly fascist & racist messaging & recruiting for…where…jeered by…neighbors & are so hated…you…refuse to show your face, & trying to attract people who…excited to cos-play as…Navy SEAL in full tactical gear…like you’re taking Fallujah while facing down…inflatable frog costumes & wrestling to…ground hard-working roofers in…Home Depot parking lot, America’s best, brightest, & most fit don’t apply."

ICE’s Hiring Surge Is Already a Disaster
It's cutting standards and racing to hire exactly the wrong people, precisely as predicted.

FEMA staff rally outside agency headquarters
https://federalnewsnetwork.com/agency-oversight/2025/10/fema-staff-rally-outside-agency-headquarters/

From @…
https://doctorow.medium.com/https-pluralistic-net-2025-11-18-im-not-bad-im-just-drawn-that-…

Bidding wars for Mac Jones, Fernando Mendoza? Setting stage for 2026 NFL QB carousel https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6896384/2025/12/19/nfl-quarterbacks-2026-draft-trade-free-agency-fernando-mendoza-mac-jones/

us_agencies: U.S. government agency websites (2018)
50 networks, one for each U.S. state, representing the web-based links between their associated government agencies websites. A node is an entire agency website and a directed edge (i,j) represents the existence of a hyperlink from any webpage in website i to some webpage in website j. Data was collected with a crawler. Nodes are annotated with the number of webpages per website, website name (related to its government function) and U…

When you say you need hope about climate change, what do you really need?
Maybe it's proof your actions matter.
Maybe it's permission to want a better future.
Maybe it's feeling less alone.
Your brain treats hope like a prediction. When reality doesn't match, hope breaks.
But agency doesn't break.
Community doesn't break.
Imagination doesn't break.
What if we stopped chasing hope and built something stronger?
Read …

How to Stay Hopeful About Climate Change: A Scientific Look at the Brain’s Hope Circuit
A science-backed exploration of why hope collapses during the climate crisis. Learn the neuroscience behind fragile hope, the psychology of despair, and the durable alternatives—like agency, imagination, and possibility—that truly sustain long-term climate engagement.

Anti-abortion activists have been trying to convince the broader public that medication abortion is dangerous for years,
but their latest argument is a decades-old asinine conspiracy theory.
In a June 18 letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin,
25 House Republicans asked the agency to study the alleged
“byproducts” of Mifepristone
(the first medication administered in a medication abortion regimen)
in water systems.
…

GOP Lawmakers Are Using a Wild Conspiracy Theory to Attack Medication Abortion
House Republicans are now talking about combing through sewers in search of microscopic evidence of our abortions.

The FCC updates its site to remove the phrase "independent agency", after Brendan Carr said in a Congressional hearing it is not independent "formally speaking" (Sara Fischer/@sarafischer)
https://x.com/sarafischer/status/2001338675607769120

Sara Fischer (@sarafischer) on X
🚨🚨 This is INSANE. I took this screenshot of the @FCC website at 11:52 a.m. ET where it explicitly states the FCC is an independent agency. 25 minutes later, it has been removed following Carr's comments during this hearing! See before and after screenshots below

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/oct/14/cyber-attacks-rise-in-past-year-uk-security-agency-says
Cyber-attacks rise by 50% in past year, UK security agency says

um
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DARPA_LifeLog

The Kitten Space Agency public alpha is out 😍😍😍😍😻😻 I might have to find a solution to run windows somewhere somehow https://ahwoo.com/store/KPbAA1Au/kitten-space-agency

Disease agency sounds alarm over Europe’s thin pipeline of new antibiotics | Euractiv
https://www.euractiv.com/news/disease-agency-sounds-alarm-over-europes-thin-pipeline-of-new-antibiotics/

The US Senate confirms FDIC acting chairman Travis Hill to lead the agency, which regulates stablecoin issuers and impacts how the crypto industry is banked (Jesse Hamilton/CoinDesk)
https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2025/12/11/s…

Two Trump Appointees Confirmed to Take Over Core Crypto Regulators CFTC, FDIC
In a package of confirmations, the U.S. Senate approved Mike Selig to lead the CFTC and Travis Hill to run the FDIC, both with major potential reach into crypto.

I criticize Mozilla quite strongly. That's not cause I want them to die. It's because while they might've lost their way I strongly believe we need organizations like Mozilla. (Even if Mozilla as "tech-company" probably needs to either massively pivot or be replaced with something that servers the people [insert my usual "There should be a government funded agency that buys things like Firefox and develops it in a transparent and democratic way" shpiel])

Cowboys’ George Pickens Makes Statement on Re-Signing in Free Agency https://heavy.com/sports/nfl/dallas-cowboys/george-pickens-staying-free-agency/?adt_ei=[email]

2019 beschreibt Maike Plath eindrücklich, wie #Schule strukturell Unterwerfungsphänomene reproduziert. Das ist der Grund, warum wir nicht bei #Selbstwirksamkeit stehen bleiben sollten, sondern #Agency

Shrapnel fell onto CHP vehicle during U.S. military live-fire exercise over I-5, agency says (Los Angeles Times)
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-10-19/u-s-military-live-fire-demonstration-dropped-shrapnel-on-chp-vehicle
http://www.memeorandum.com/251019/p68#a251019p68

"Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is planning to investigate climate and weather control, and is expected to create a task force that will recommend possible federal action, according to a former agency official, an internal agency memo obtained by KFF Health News, and a consultant who helped with the memo."
Leaked memo shows bizarre weather conspiracy theory being taken seriously by government - Raw Story
https://www.rawstory.com/weather-2674206192/

Der #39C3 naht fast so schnell wie Weihnachten. 🎅
Ich bin gespannt auf die dortige c‘t Uplink #podcast Episode zum Thema #DigitaleSouveränität, bei der ich auch dabei sein w…

CBO director testifies that hackers have been expelled from email systems https://therecord.media/congressional-budget-office-director-testifies-hackers-expelled

The US Senate confirms Trump pick Michael Selig as chairman of the CFTC, as lawmakers consider legislation to give the agency more control over digital assets (Lydia Beyoud/Bloomberg)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/20

Senate Confirms Selig as Chief of CFTC and Hill to Run the FDIC
The US Senate on Thursday night confirmed Michael Selig as chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Travis Hill as chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., installing permanent chiefs of two agencies that play critical roles overseeing financial markets and banks.

The agency told ProPublica it has made no decision on whether to vaccinate hens and has no timeline on when it might announce one
— though it is “proactively assessing” the possibility.
Avoiding the question of airborne spread appears to be in the USDA’s
“best interests,” said Michelle Kromm, an animal health consultant
who directed Jennie-O Turkey’s bird flu response in past outbreaks.
“If this is a major risk factor, then vaccine is absolutely a critical mit…

#Occupado

🪏 Brazil dismantles hundreds of illegal dredges in major Amazon mining crackdown
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/11/brazil-dismantles-hundreds-of-illegal-dredges-in-major-amazon-mining-crackdown/

Brazil dismantles hundreds of illegal dredges in major Amazon mining crackdown
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Brazilian police backed by Interpol have destroyed hundreds of dredges used in illegal gold mining along the Madeira River, in one of the biggest coordinated crackdowns yet on criminal networks operating across the Amazon Basin. The international police agency said officers dismantled 277 floating mining rafts worth an estimated $6.8 million. […]

Schottenheimer Makes Plea to Cowboys on $21 Million Free-Agent Move https://heavy.com/sports/nfl/dallas-cowboys/brian-schottenheimer-cowboys-on-free-agent-star/

"IEA warns global solar growth may plateau at 540 GW annually to 2035"
#SolarPower #Energy #Renewables

IEA warns global solar growth may plateau at 540 GW annually to 2035
The International Energy Agency (IEA) said global solar capacity additions are projected to average 540 GW a year through 2035, as outlined in its World Energy Outlook 2025 report.

Instacart will pay $60M to settle FTC allegations that it used deceptive tactics in its subscription signup and "satisfaction guarantee" advertising (Annie Palmer/CNBC)
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/12/18/instacart-ftc-settlement-deceptive-billing.html

Instacart to pay $60 million to settle FTC claims it deceived customers
The federal agency alleged that Instacart used a number of deceptive tactics in its subscription signup and "satisfaction guarantee" advertising.

The Voice Of Education - Free Agency Podcast
All teachers are leaders, lets share in their stories and celebrate their achievements...
Great Australian Pods Podcast Directory: https://www.greataustralianpods.com/the-voice-of-education/

https://nypost.com/2025/10/10/us-news/cybersecurity-agency-that-clashed-with-trump-one-of-the-first-hit-with-federal-firings-due-to-shutdown/
Cybersecurity agency that clashed with Trump…

Cybersecurity agency that clashed with Trump one of the first hit with federal firings due to government shutdown
CISA plans to keep just 889 employees on duty during a shutdown while furloughing 65% of its workforce.

us_agencies: U.S. government agency websites (2018)
50 networks, one for each U.S. state, representing the web-based links between their associated government agencies websites. A node is an entire agency website and a directed edge (i,j) represents the existence of a hyperlink from any webpage in website i to some webpage in website j. Data was collected with a crawler. Nodes are annotated with the number of webpages per website, website name (related to its government function) and U…

Last week, I had the honour of presenting my work on smart charging and V2G to the IEA's Transport Project Partnership.
https://www.iea.org/news/the-iea-convenes-transport-project-partnership-to-examine-the-topics…

The IEA convenes Transport Project Partnership to examine the topics shaping the transport sector - News - IEA
The IEA convenes Transport Project Partnership to examine the topics shaping the transport sector - News from the International Energy Agency

#Salesforce Tries to Help ICE Boost Its Immigration Force
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/16/us/salesforce-benioff-ice.html

Trump administration furloughs nuclear weapons agency staff due to shutdown | Nuclear Weapons News | Al Jazeera
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10/18/trump-administration-furloughs-nuclear-weapons-agency-staff-due-to-shutdown

@… honestly, I fail to see how it undermines trust, transparency, and user agency.
How, exactly?
Cc @… @…

In a world with kings, our only agency is to beg “please, sir, be kind.”
#apple #BigTech

20 Years of Digital Life, Gone in an Instant, thanks to Apple
Summary: A major brick-and-mortar store sold an Apple Gift Card that Apple seemingly took offence to, and locked out my entire Apple ID, effectively bricking my devices and my iCloud Account, Apple Developer ID, and everything associated with it, and I have no recourse. Can you help? Email paris AT paris.id.au (and read on for the details). ❤️ Here’s how Apple “Permanently” locked my Apple ID. I am writing this as a desperate measure.

PA Media, the UK's largest press agency, says it has adopted a "video-first" strategy to meet increased demand for live and vertical social media content (Freddy Mayhew/Press Gazette)
https://pressgazette.co.uk/publishing-

PA Media goes ‘video-first’ to meet demand for live and social-ready content
News agency launches social media ready vertical video feed.

4,000 gone: Inside NASA’s brain drain | Interviews in Planetary Society zeichnen ein Bild sinnloser Verschwendung, verschwendeter Fachkompetenz und willkürlicher Entscheidungen. Sie warnen vor Trends, die die weltweite Führungsrolle der NASA gefährden.
https://www.planetary.org/articles/4000-go

4,000 gone: Inside NASA’s brain drain
In exclusive interviews, ex-NASA scientists speak out on the impact of the agency's mass departures.

The U.S. Secret Service on Thursday discovered a suspicious hunting stand near Palm Beach International Airport
with a direct sight line to where Donald Trump exits Air Force One.
The FBI is now leading an investigation into the discovery, Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesperson for the Secret Service, said in a statement

Secret Service discovers hunting stand with direct sight line to Trump's Air Force One exit in Florida
The U.S. Secret Service on Thursday discovered a suspicious hunting stand near Palm Beach International Airport with a direct sight line to where President Donald Trump exits Air Force One, the agency confirmed to NBC News on Sunday

In the Washington, DC area there's a real estate agency called RLAH, and every time I see one of their signs for a split second I think that it's for R'lyeh Real Estate. #cthulhu

China says the NSA has been hacking its National Time Service Center, which provides high precision time services for the government and others, since 2023 (Bloomberg)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-10-19/china-…

New far-right party in this month's Dutch elections JA21 does well in the polls after endless talk show invitations.
Turns out they misled the government agency assessing the budget effects of party platforms. The party e.g. tells voters it will 'end aviation tax', but it told PBL they're going to keep it.
https://nos.n…

JA21 veranderde onvermeld verkiezingsbeloftes voor doorrekening
Zo heeft de partij een versnelde verhoging van de AOW-leeftijd laten doorrekenen bij het CPB. In 2060 zou de pensioenleeftijd 1,5 jaar hoger liggen. Dit staat echter niet in het partijprogramma.

Voted today. There was a cooler full of free water, but no line, so I just walked right in and did my thing. The major issue on the ballot is electing two commissioners for the regulatory agency that oversees Georgia Power rates.
Local votes are important.

Raider Star Gives Blunt Words on Potential George Pickens Move https://heavy.com/sports/nfl/las-vegas-raiders/possible-cowboys-george-pickens-move/?adt_ei=[email]

SF's Local Agency Formation Commission "LAFCo" is hiring a policy analyst. This role would be key in the development of a green public bank, which will be on the ballot next year, and potentially in starting a social housing program!
https://careers.sf.gov/role/?id=374399

LAFCo Policy Analyst - Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCo) - Board of Supervisors - (1823 Senior Administrative Analyst)
Specific information regarding this recruitment process are listed below:Application Opening: November 25, 2025Filing Deadline: December 31, 2025 Recruitment ID: RTF0162212-01148363APPOINTMENT TYPEPermanent Exempt (PEX), Category 18: The San Francisco Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCo) Policy Analyst position is exempt from Civil Service Rules and serves at the pleasure of the Appointing Officer, the Executive Officer of LAFCo. This is a limited term position with a maximum of one (1)…

Minor good news for libraries: "A Victory for IMLS as Court Blocks Trump’s Attempt to Dismantle Agency"
IMLS is the Institute of Museum and Library Services, which funds leadership training and R&D in libraries in the US. A small % of library funding but important.
but I believe everyone is gone and grants cancelled so not sure what happens if funding returns-- who gets employed?

CISA, eyeing China, plans hiring spree to rebuild its depleted ranks
https://www.cybersecuritydive.com/news/cisa-hiring-workforce-strategy/805733/

CISA, eyeing China, plans hiring spree to rebuild its depleted ranks
The agency will also change some of its workforce policies to avoid driving away talented staff.

There is a cult of action at the heart of tech.
This cult says: don't mind that the systems are broken. Don't try and fix them. You can just do things, using you ubermensch will.
AI has plugged into this cult to promise 10x-ing your action. But instead your will becomes subservient to the machine.
Doing what is easiest is only going to make things worse. The only helpful course of action is to fix the system.

"Just doing things" is not a path to value
Action for the sake of action feels good, but the path of least resistance leads you to surrender your own agency.

Environment Agency failed to visit serious pollution incidents, files show #England

Environment Agency failed to visit serious pollution incidents, leaked files show
Data from inside England's environment watchdog show an agency struggling to monitor serious pollution.

FCC chair suggests agency isn't independent, word cut from mission statement (Axios)
https://www.axios.com/2025/12/17/brendan-carr-fcc-independent-senate-testimony-website
http://www.memeorandum.com/251217/p83#a251217p83

AI and Human Oversight: A Risk-Based Framework for Alignment
Laxmiraju Kandikatla, Branislav Radeljic
https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.09090 https://arxiv.org/pd…

AI and Human Oversight: A Risk-Based Framework for Alignment
As Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies continue to advance, protecting human autonomy and promoting ethical decision-making are essential to fostering trust and accountability. Human agency (the capacity of individuals to make informed decisions) should be actively preserved and reinforced by AI systems. This paper examines strategies for designing AI systems that uphold fundamental rights, strengthen human agency, and embed effective human oversight mechanisms. It discusses key oversight…

Internal documents: Salesforce pitched ICE on using its AI tech to nearly triple the agency's staff by hiring 10K new officers, improve investigations, and more (Heather Knight/New York Times)
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/16/us/sale

Salesforce Offers Its Services to Boost ICE Immigration Force
The San Francisco-based firm has told ICE that it could use A.I. to help the agency nearly triple its staff. The company’s C.E.O., once a progressive tech titan, has embraced President Trump.

https://www.cablefax.com/regulation/on-hold-court-pauses-fcc-data-breach-rules-as-agency-takes-new-look
Court Pauses FCC Data Breach Rules as Agency Takes New Look

Court Pauses FCC Data Breach Rules as Agency Takes New Look
The FCC is going to take another look at those data breach rules, and it sounds like they may be toast.

us_agencies: U.S. government agency websites (2018)
50 networks, one for each U.S. state, representing the web-based links between their associated government agencies websites. A node is an entire agency website and a directed edge (i,j) represents the existence of a hyperlink from any webpage in website i to some webpage in website j. Data was collected with a crawler. Nodes are annotated with the number of webpages per website, website name (related to its government function) and U…

The Trump administration is planning to furlough the vast majority of the civilian staff at a key agency that helps manage the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile.
The National Nuclear Security Administration, which falls under the Energy Department,
will exhaust its available funding on Saturday,
according to the notice NNSA sent to lawmakers.
As a result, approximately 1,400 employees will be furloughed,
the notice states, while about 375 will remain on the job…

A group of former FCC members petition the FCC to repeal its News Distortion policy, invoked by Brendan Carr in the 60 Minutes case, arguing it violates the 1A (Kevin Collier/NBC News)
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/fcc

Former FCC chairs urge agency to repeal policy invoked by Trump administration
A group of former FCC leaders has petitioned the agency to repeal the policy the Trump administration invoked in discussions surrounding Jimmy Kimmel.

Roblox in talks with Russia to restore access after platform ban sparks backlash https://therecord.media/roblox-in-talks-with-russia-to-restore-access-ban

World breaks renewable records - adding 582 GW of capacity in 2024 - but must move faster to hit the agreed 2030 tripling goal.
From @irena-official.bsky.social:
https://www.irena.org/News/pressreleases/2

World Breaks Renewable Records but Must Move Faster to Hit 2030 Tripling Goal
The world is falling behind on its renewable energy and efficiency goals despite record progress last year, confirms a new report released today by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the COP30 Brazilian Presidency, and the Global Renewables Alliance (GRA) during a pre-COP30 high-level event in Brasília.

us_agencies: U.S. government agency websites (2018)
50 networks, one for each U.S. state, representing the web-based links between their associated government agencies websites. A node is an entire agency website and a directed edge (i,j) represents the existence of a hyperlink from any webpage in website i to some webpage in website j. Data was collected with a crawler. Nodes are annotated with the number of webpages per website, website name (related to its government function) and U…

Way-too-early 2026 Cowboys Mock Offseason: free agency, firings, draft https://cowboyswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/cowboys/2025/12/10/2026-cowboys-mock-offseason-free-agency-firings-draft/87641076007/

Trey Hendrickson landing spots: Where could the Bengals pass rusher end up as he faces free agency?

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/trey-he

Interesting to so easily see the quite aggressive radar/jamming near key Russian sites on European Space Agency's Synthetic-Aperture Radar imagery

Copernicus Browser
Search, visualise and download Sentinel satellite imagery

BRICKSTORM Backdoor
"The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) analyzed eight BRICKSTORM samples obtained from victim organizations. BRICKSTORM is a custom Executable and Linkable Format (ELF) Go-based backdoor. "
MISP standard and STIX files available at the following location:
🔗 https://cti-tra…

"UK, Dutch agencies pull funding from Total’s controversial Mozambique LNG project"
#UK #UnitedKingdom #Netherlands

UK, Dutch agencies pull funding from Total’s controversial Mozambique LNG project
U.K. and Dutch export credit agencies have withdrawn their financial commitments for French oil and gas giant TotalEnergies’ gas project in Mozambique, in an unprecedented move that marks the latest setback for the controversial project. UK Export Finance (UKEF), a government agency, and Netherlands-based Atradius, both of which provide companies with loans, guarantees and insurance […]

Lawyers who care should run for positions in their respective state bar ethics committees.
We need to hold these people accountable, and make sure they never practice law again.
https://…

60 Attorneys on the Year of Chaos Inside Trump’s Justice Department
Sixty former staffers describe an environment of suspicion and intimidation within the nation’s most powerful law enforcement agency.

Data privacy whistleblowers would get expanded protections under California proposal https://therecord.media/california-data-privacy-agency-whistleblower-protections-proposal

us_agencies: U.S. government agency websites (2018)
50 networks, one for each U.S. state, representing the web-based links between their associated government agencies websites. A node is an entire agency website and a directed edge (i,j) represents the existence of a hyperlink from any webpage in website i to some webpage in website j. Data was collected with a crawler. Nodes are annotated with the number of webpages per website, website name (related to its government function) and U…

Javonte Williams reveals how free agency talks went down with Cowboys this offseason https://www.si.com/nfl/cowboys/news/javonte-williams-reveals-how-free-agency-talks-went-down-with-cowboys-this-offseason

New names surface for NSA director, other top jobs at spy agency
https://therecord.media/national-security-agency-vacancies-director-deputy-general-counsel

New names surface for NSA director, other top jobs at spy agency
Officers from the Army and Air Force are under consideration to lead the NSA, and moves could be happening soon for other top jobs at the spy agency, sources tell Recorded Future News.

Russia is 'exporting chaos', new head of Britain's spy agency MI6 warns (Charles Clover/Financial Times)
https://www.ft.com/content/5cbedc56-b29a-4284-901b-aef5f6853135
http://www.memeorandum.com/251215/p48#a251215p48

Cowboys must let 2024 leading WR walk in free agency, commit to breakout star https://www.si.com/nfl/cowboys/onsi/dallas-cowboys-must-let-2024-leading-wr-walk-nfl-free-agency-commit-breakout-star

Two weeks into the government shutdown
with no resolution in sight,
higher ed associations and researchers say
the inability of scientists to contact federal agency workers
or get new grants approved
is causing harm
https://www.

Researchers, Colleges Face Federal Shutdown Impacts
Two weeks into the government shutdown with no resolution in sight, higher ed associations and researchers say the inability of scientists to contact federal agency workers or get new grants approved is causing harm.

us_agencies: U.S. government agency websites (2018)
50 networks, one for each U.S. state, representing the web-based links between their associated government agencies websites. A node is an entire agency website and a directed edge (i,j) represents the existence of a hyperlink from any webpage in website i to some webpage in website j. Data was collected with a crawler. Nodes are annotated with the number of webpages per website, website name (related to its government function) and U…

At a talk, the FCC's Anna Gomez says she's called on the FCC to define "public interest" so the agency can't weaponize the term to censor TV and radio stations (Matthew Keys/TheDesk.net)
https://thedesk.net/2025/10/fcc-anna-gomez-public-interest-d…

FCC Commissioner Gomez: Agency must define "public interest" requirement
Speaking at an event on Thursday, FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez called on the agency to issue a rule that defines a broadcaster's public interest obligation.

Cowboys' Javonte Williams free agency signing ranks among best in NFL https://www.si.com/nfl/cowboys/news/dallas-cowboys-javonte-williams-free-agency-signing-ranks-among-best-nfl

ICE has used the pretext of combating antisemitism to target dissidents.
A branch of the agency previously used to target drug smugglers and human traffickers has reportedly been directed to scan social media for posts sympathetic to Hamas.
Though ICE is ostensibly still bound by constitutional limits,
the way it has been operating bears the hallmarks of a secret police force in the making.
They typically meet five criteria:
they’re a police force targeting pol…

How ICE is becoming a secret police force under the Trump administration
The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement meets most criteria that have defined secret police forces in authoritarian regimes. And the worst may be yet to come.

Today’s sanctions also zero in on eight cyber military intelligence officers for working for the GRU for cyber operations targeting Yulia Skripal with X-agent malware and, five years later, the attempted murder of Yulia and her father on UK soil
https://www.

UK cracks down on Russian intelligence agency authorised by Putin to target Skripals
UK announces sanctions against the GRU as Dawn Sturgess Inquiry report finds Putin personally ordered their activity in Salisbury in 2018.

AG Pam Bondi says Meta complied with the DOJ's request to take down a Facebook Page that the agency said was being used to harass ICE agents in Chicago (James Oliphant/Reuters)
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/facebook-

Questions remain about how leaders at the Los Angeles fire department responded to a fire that leveled entire communities,
and who within the agency knew about concerns the fire could still pose a threat.
A former LA city councilor says the aftermath and recovery effort should serve as a Pearl Harbor moment for the city,
which should never again be in a position with flames encroaching on all sides.
The LA Times has published a series of bombshell revelationsabout th…

Why did Rico Dowdle leave the Cowboys? Panthers RB aims to make Dallas regret free agency decision https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/rico-dowdle-leave-cowboys-panthers-dallas/7a8f0a20866814f88f6aa8a9

Judge finds Trump unlawfully fired 17 agency IGs, but won’t reinstate them
https://federalnewsnetwork.com/agency-oversight/2025/09/trump-unlawfully-fired-17-agency-igs-judge-finds-but-wont-reinstate-them/

In case you missed it, my piece yesterday on the 176 CISA employees fired last Friday, which will not go behind the customary archive paywall.
It's critical to note that sources told me more RIFs are in store for the nation's embattled cybersecurity agency.
https://www.

The White House fired 176 CISA employees on Friday, with more layoffs feared
Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters leaked 5m Qantas, 23m Vietnam Air customers' records, Spanish cops dismantle GXC Team, Dutch gov't warns of China's Nexperia security risks, Breach of crypto betting platform Shuffle exposes user data, FCC chair says sites have removed barred Chinese electronics, much more

A look at China's Ministry of State Security, which has been reshaped by Xi Jinping to be the primary driver of cyber espionage campaigns like Salt Typhoon (New York Times)
https://www.nytimes.…

What Salt Typhoon Shows About the Cyber Power of China’s Spy Agency
Fears of U.S. surveillance drove Xi Jinping, China’s leader, to elevate the agency and put it at the center of his cyber ambitions.

Cowboys Named Landing Spot For 2 Pro Bowl Pass Rushers https://heavy.com/sports/nfl/dallas-cowboys/free-agency-khalil-mack-trey-hendrickson/?adt_ei=[email]

It's the latest in a series of moves by Trump acolytes at the Department of Justice
who are transforming the voting section of the agency from an office focused on protecting Americans’ voting rights
to one that is in lockstep with an election denial movement
that incessantly demands investigations and drastic reductions in access to the polls
based on Donald Trump’s lies about elections.

Kristi Noem has hailed a more than $200 million, taxpayer-funded ad campaign as a crucial tool to stem illegal immigration.
Her agency invoked the “national emergency” at the border as it awarded contracts for the campaign,
bypassing the normal competitive bidding process designed to prevent waste and corruption.
The Department of Homeland Security has kept at least one beneficiary of the nine-figure ad deal a secret,
records and interviews show:
a Republican c…

Firm Tied to Kristi Noem Secretly Got Money From $220 Million DHS Ad Contracts
The company is run by the husband of Noem’s chief DHS spokesperson and has personal and business ties to Noem and her aides. DHS invoked the “emergency” at the border to skirt competitive bidding rules for the taxpayer-funded campaign.

Cowboys Breakout Playmaker ‘May Be Playing His Last Games’ in Dallas https://heavy.com/sports/nfl/dallas-cowboys/javonte-williams-decision-2026-free-agency/?adt_ei=[email]

The American Library Association (ALA) has touted a "massive win"
after previously revoked federal funding for libraries and museums was reinstated nationwide.
The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)
announced on Wednesday it had
"reinstated all federal grants,"
8 months after an executive order from Donald Trump kick-started a firestorm
at the agency that supports the nation’s libraries.
Most of IMLS' staff, and i…

Library Grants Reinstated Nationwide After ‘Massive’ Legal Victory
Grants being restored after a Trump and DOGE firestorm are being hailed as "a massive win for libraries."

Education Secretary Linda McMahon has been clear about her desire to shut down the agency she runs.
She’s laid off half the staff and joked about padlocking the door.
She calls it “the final mission.”
But the department is not behaving like an agency that is simply winding down.
Even as McMahon has shrunk the Department of Education,
she’s operated in what she calls
“a parallel universe”
to radically shift how children will learn for years to come.…

These Activists Want to Dismantle Public Schools. Now They Run the Education Department.
Under Trump, the Department of Education has been bringing in activists hostile to public schools. It could mean a new era of private and religious schools boosted by tax dollars — and the end of public schools as we know them.

After Kyiv’s uncrewed fleet succeeded in curbing the movements of Russia’s once-dominant Black Sea navy
The commander of sea-drone operations for Ukraine’s military intelligence agency
says more complex strikes against Russian forces are expected next year
In an interview with The Associated Press, the head of the specialized maritime drone unit, Group 13,
said Ukraine’s attacks have forced Russia to adapt,
limiting opportunities for major Black Sea strikes seen…

Ukraine's sea drone commander says AI targeting will add pressure on Russia
A top Ukrainian sea-drone commander says more complex attacks on Russian forces are expected next year as Kyiv’s uncrewed fleet continues to restrict the once-dominant Black Sea navy. The officer, known as “13th,” told The Associated Press that Russia has adapted by keeping ships in port and operating at greater distances, reducing opportunities for high-profile strikes. The defense intelligence agency's Group 13 operates Magura drones that have played a key role in limiting Russian movem…