Author: Ethan Johnson

When you visit the newly created FOIA.gov website, you will see a variety of statistics regarding FOIA requests and processing times. In 2023, the average processing time for a simple request across all agencies ranged from a minimum of 1 day to a maximum of 636 days. Having this information readily available is a good thing, thanks to the FOIA Improvements Act of 2016 and the new online unified portal for FOIA requests it created. The fact that we know that completing FOIA requests takes almost 30 times longer than the statutory requirement means that it is clear that further…

MONTCLAIR, N.J. — What do a former mayor, a risk management expert, a history and arts advocate, a banker, an avid gardener, and a grassroots activist all have in common? He is aiming to be elected as a member of this year's town council as a member of the group. The city of Montclair's municipal election will be held on Tuesday, May 14th. A total of seven seats will be up for grabs: the mayor, two members of the Grand Council, and one city council member from each of the four wards.See election schedules, district maps and other important information…

A new bipartisan effort is underway to create a public watchdog agency with subpoena power to investigate fraud and corruption in state government.On Tuesday, the Delaware General Assembly introduced legislation in the latest effort to create a bipartisan Office of Inspector General.The office is tasked with conducting investigations, issuing public opinion, and initiating civil proceedings against state officials accused of unethical conduct. The agency's employees would be given subpoena power to compel the disclosure of documents from those under investigation, as well as the authority to launch their own investigations into both violations of state law and the code of…

Participants discussed joint efforts to promote trade and economic cooperation between Russia and Belarus. The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Belarus, on the authority of Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk and Belarusian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Krutoy, held a meeting of the High-Level Group of the Federal State Council. The meeting took place in Minsk, Belarus. The ceremony was attended by Secretary of State of the Federation Dmitry Mezentsev, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to Belarus Boris Gryzlov, and representatives of relevant Russian and Belarusian ministries and departments. Meeting of the High Level…

Uncertainty hangs over Haiti as it waits to form a new government following the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry. The move has been welcomed by Haitians exhausted by months of escalating gang violence. But while the streets of the capital Port-au-Prince appeared largely calm on Tuesday, the security situation remains far from resolved. Mr. Henry, who is stranded in Puerto Rico, released a video late Monday night promising to resign as soon as a transitional council and interim leadership are chosen. After Caribbean leaders and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met in Jamaica, U.S. officials said the council…

TikTok will still be allowed on personal devices owned by government employees, rather than official government devices. ODESSA, Texas — The City of Odessa has advanced a policy that prohibits the installation or use of TikTok on government devices. TikTok is a popular social media platform based in China, but it has recently faced accusations of ties to the Chinese Communist Party. It also involved collecting data on users without their consent. The policy was originally brought up by Odessa City Manager John Beckmeyer. He said the Texas state legislature recently moved to ban the app, citing its ties to…

Chicago (CBS) — A woman takes a photo on the street. She is a contract employee who investigates cell phone towers. A student seeks help from a career guidance counselor.These are all seemingly routine activities. A snapshot of life across Chicagoland. All of them were reported to the police as “suspicious persons.” They are then documented by local law enforcement in the form of suspicious activity reports (SARs), which are maintained by the FBI. A clear disparity is that most of those reported were Arabs and Muslims. The nonprofit Arab American Action Network (AAAN) sued the Illinois State Police over…

(Bloomberg) — Shares of beleaguered Chinese solar power producers have rebounded in recent days amid growing speculation that the government will take steps to sustain the industry’s rapid capacity expansion. .Most Read Articles on BloombergAccording to local media reports, the Chinese government may end its policy of restricting installations if power cuts exceed 5% of a particular power source's installed capacity. The source of the information was not disclosed. The National Development and Reform Commission, which imposed the rule in 2018 to improve the efficiency of electricity supply, did not respond to a faxed request for comment.To meet its climate…

The FAA investigated 89 production items at Boeing's Renton, Wash., factory and found that the company had deficiencies in 33 of them, according to a person familiar with the report. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details that had previously been reported by The New York Times, which published a slide presentation about the government audit, but have not been made public.Diehl said in the memo that the “vast majority” of violations the FAA found involved workers who did not follow Boeing-approved procedures.Diehl said the company will take corrective action, which includes “working with each employee identified…

Palestinian office in Jerusalem says 13-year-old killed by Israeli forces after setting off fireworksdoha madani marin scott chantal da silva Israeli forces shot and killed 13-year-old Rami Hamdan al-Khalhouri after setting off fireworks at a refugee camp near East Jerusalem tonight, the Palestinian Governorate of Jerusalem announced on Facebook. Israeli police said in a statement that officers were involved in a “violent disturbance” in the Shuafat refugee camp in which fireworks and Molotov cocktails were fired at security forces. During the incident, a Border Patrol agent opened fire on a “suspect who endangered the force by firing aerial fireworks at…