Author: Ethan Johnson

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) – An open records measure dealing with public access to the flow of electronic messages between government officials passed the Kentucky House of Representatives on Tuesday after close scrutiny.The bill's lead sponsor, Republican state Rep. John Hodgson, withdrew the original version, which drew strong backlash from open records advocates. These advocates warn that the revised version still contains loopholes that undermine the public's ability to scrutinize government business.To that end, open government advocates say that the obligation for public agencies to create electronic information would be limited and applied only to materials stored on “government agency property…

Northwestern researchers examine potential harm to democracy Will the temptation of deepfakes become too much for democratic governments to resist? If deepfakes are being considered, what questions should governments be asking, and who in government should be asking them?Two professors at Northwestern University have outlined several hypothetical scenarios in which democratic governments might consider using deepfakes to further their foreign policy goals, and what this use could mean for democracies. He co-authored a new report examining the potential harms.The report was released today (March 12) by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).Co-authors are VS Subrahmanian, Walter P. Murphy,…

MANSFIELD — Don't expect to visit Richland County Hall on April 8th. Like the afternoon sky during a total solar eclipse, County Hall will be pitch black. Richland County commissioners voted Tuesday to close county offices for the entire day of the once-in-a-lifetime astronomical event. In Richland County, the eclipse experience is expected to begin around 1:57 p.m., with totality expected to begin at 3:12 p.m., with locals (and guests) expecting 3 minutes and 12 seconds of darkness during the day. It is expected. “This closure is necessary due to the expected influx of people into the county to view…

Kenyan officials have announced that the Kenyan government is scrapping plans to send at least 1,000 police officers to Haiti following the unprecedented violence that has erupted in the Caribbean country and Prime Minister Ariel Henry's announcement that the country will remain in the country.by Tom Odula Associated PressMarch 12, 2024, 3:55 PM ET• 3 minute readNAIROBI, Kenya — Kenya will send at least 1,000 police officers to Haiti following unprecedented violence in the Caribbean country and Prime Minister Ariel Henry's announcement that he will step down once a presidential council is established. Plans are being canceled. officials said Tuesday.Kenya…

Lawmakers in the United States, Europe and Canada have stepped up efforts over the last year to restrict access to TikTok, the popular short-form video app owned by Chinese company ByteDance, citing security threats.In February 2023, the White House told federal agencies they had 30 days to remove the app from government devices, and various cities banned government employees from downloading the app. The following month, members of Congress grilled TikTok Chief Executive Officer Shou Chu for about five hours over his relationship with TikTok's parent company and China's potential influence on the platform.In March 2024, the House Energy and…

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Haiti's political leaders are racing to meet a 24-hour deadline to form a transitional council to lead the troubled country following Prime Minister Ariel Henry's resignation.Facing intense pressure from the international community and U.S. officials, Henry announced late Monday that he would step down to make way for an interim presidential council that would appoint a new interim prime minister and lead the country to new elections. His resignation comes as Caribbean community leader and Haitian politician Antony Blinken aim to reach an emergency deal to bring political stability to a country hit by the worst violence…

While the White House lectures about the strength of the economy, Americans are drowning in credit card debt, which reached a record $1.13 trillion by the end of last year. Of course, Americans are unhappy with the economy. We have to pay for necessities on credit cards that are charged $240 billion in interest every year. How we got here is a lesson in failed government policy. Excessive government spending over the past four years has created a veritable cost-of-living crisis, leaving families mired in debt. As governments spent, borrowed, and printed trillions of dollars, the value of the dollar…

Bitcoin mining is linked to rising electricity pricesThomas Wren/Alamy Stock Photo The US government has proposed taxing crypto miners to reduce the industry's heavy environmental impact, but experts say the measure could simply shift the problem elsewhere. It warns that there is. Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin are kept secure through a process called mining, which involves intensive calculations and large amounts of power consumption. According to the latest data from the University of Cambridge, Bitcoin accounts for 0.69% of the electricity used worldwide. In the United States, the government estimates that just 137 mining operations will account for up to…

During a recent two-week stay in Guangzhou, China, the country's third largest city after Beijing and Shanghai, I met with three local professors working on China's digital government to learn more about how the system works. I had a chance. A key part of China's digital government is the country's formal system for receiving and registering online complaints and comments from citizens regarding government services. This grew out of an old imperial dynasty custom in which people dissatisfied with mistreatment by local officials would go to Beijing and lodge complaints with designated court officials. About 15 years ago, reports began…

Guinea's new prime minister has indicated that the generals who seized power in a 2021 coup will delay a return to civilian rule until at least 2025.Amadou Ouli Barr, who was appointed by the military two weeks ago, is the first senior official to suggest the junta may not be able to fulfill its promise to transfer power by the end of 2024. Regional bloc Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) had been pressuring the military to hold elections by the end of the year. However, given the lack of progress towards transferring power and the turbulent domestic situation,…