So interesting! I've been using it for a while and have had thr opposite experience. Do you have an example of where it really failed?

FAA Scraps Civil and Criminal Penalties for Flying Drones Near ICE Vehicles You won’t go to jail for filming ICE with a drone, but the government may still shoot it down and it expanded the list of protected agencies to include the Department of Justice.

big news, the FAA has gotten rid of criminal penalties for flying drones near ICE vehicles

FAA drops ban on drones near DHS operations following Minnesota photojournalist’s lawsuit • Minnesota Reformer The Federal Aviation Administration this week walked back a rule barring drone flights within 3,000 feet of Department of Homeland Security buildings and vehicles.

FAA drops ban on drones near DHS operations following Minnesota photojournalist’s lawsuit

Journalist’s lawsuit prompts FAA to abandon no fly zone near DHS vehicles The FAA dropped the drone restrictions after RCFP attorneys sued the agency on behalf of photojournalist Rob Levine.

In response to a lawsuit brought by @rcfp.org attorneys for Rob Levine, the FAA has rescinded the TFR on drones near DHS vehicles.

As @graysonclary.bsky.social notes, it was an "egregious overreach that had serious consequences for reporters nationwide."

Details here: www.rcfp.org/faa-drops-dr...

JUST IN: Judge losing patience w/DOJ's missed deadlines in Democracy Forward #FOIA suit for emails, texts & DMs from Ed Martin's service as acting US Attorney for DC. Judge Amir Ali (Biden/DC) orders ramp-up to 500 pages processed per month. "Internal consultations" don't count

I did wonder...

Now We Know Their Names | WIRED YouTube video by WIRED

WIRED analyzed Border Patrol use-of-force reports alongside body cam footage and public records to identify masked agents involved in incidents with US citizens.

We found hundreds of names.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1d73...

Babe wake up! A new OLC memo just dropped saying the Presidential Records Act is unconstitutional!

(Really)

www.justice.gov/olc/media/14...

Journalist Sues FAA Over Drone No Fly Zone Designed to Prevent Filming ICE A Minnesota journalist is challenging a 3,000 foot restriction on flying near DHS assets on First Amendment grounds.

A Minnesota journalist is challenging a 3,000 foot restriction on flying near DHS assets on First Amendment grounds.

JUST IN: Judge Timothy Kelly declines Trump admin's bid to dismiss suit claiming HHS shuttering of #FOIA office broke law by halting requests. But he doesnt resolves case and wants updated record. Doc:
ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show...

Robo-Cops: AI Is Coming For Your Local Police As Northwest police departments adopt artificial intelligence, some see a dystopian nightmare. Others see an inevitable future

Some Northwest police departments in the past two weeks have expanded their use of a program that uses AI to write police reports from body cameras.

An extensive survey of LE in our region shows they may just be the first.

EFF Sues for Answers About Medicare's AI Experiment SAN FRANCISCO – The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) today filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) seeking records about a

📢 BREAKING 📢
We're suing to get answers about Medicare's AI experiment that could affect millions of seniors' care. Read more about our FOIA lawsuit: www.eff.org/press/relea...

State agencies must open their records. Sometimes, AI does it instead. A recent estimate provided to the Detroit Free Press in response to a FOIA request included a $739.50 charge for use of a "FOIA review tool."

Is AI hurting the access citizens have to their government via the Freedom of Information Act? Maybe.

The state of Michigan is using contracted artificial intelligence software to respond to some FOIA requests — in ways that do not appear to comply with state law.

www.freep.com/story/news/p...

A tidbit: @mayorbowser.dc.gov has signed the emergency bill passed by the D.C. Council that requires MPD to disclose body camera footage from local officers patrolling with federal agents if/when they fire their guns or use serious force. It'll be in effect until June 21.

Police body cam footage shows DOGE knew Institute of Peace was private property during raid Footage obtained by The Handbasket’s lawsuit shows a hostile takeover on March 17, 2025.

Today is the one year anniversary of DOGE's raid on the US Institute of Peace. DC Metropolitan police literally broke open doors at the institute's privately-owned building to let Trump officials bully their way in.

Read about my lawsuit to retrieve the body camera footage, and what it revealed:

With the start of Sunshine Week, DOJ has still not posted its FY25 #FOIA report, which the government itself says needed to be posted by March 1 🤦

Photojournalist challenges FAA’s ban on drone flights near DHS vehicles RCFP attorneys are representing photojournalist Rob Levine in challenging the unconstitutional no fly zone.

NEW:

RCFP attorneys are representing photojournalist @roblevine82.bsky.social in a challenge to a nation-wide FAA flight restriction that prohibits drones in a bubble 3k feet wide x 1k feet high around all DHS vehicles

www.rcfp.org/levine-faa-d...

Minnesota photojournalist sues FAA over rule banning drones near DHS assets • Minnesota Reformer A Minnesota photojournalist and press freedom advocates are suing the Federal Aviation Administration over a recently-issued rule banning drone flights within 3,000 feet of Department of Homeland Secu...

A Minnesota photojournalist (with help from @rcfp.org) is suing the FAA over a rule restricting drone flights within 3,000 feet of Homeland Security assets — including vehicles.

But drone pilots have no way of knowing whether an unmarked ICE vehicle is in their vicinity. For @minnesotareformer.com

Happy #sunshineweek! Here are some gems from our investigation into 339 court dockets showing that government lawyers explicitly blamed the Trump staffing cuts for FOIA delays at at least 13 agencies.

Free link below.

It’s 2026 and Sunshine Week ☀️is here once again! The Foilies, a project from EFF and MuckRock shines a light on government agencies and officials that have demonstrated an utter disdain for transparency. Check out the “honorees” for the The Foilies 2026: eff.org/deeplinks/2...

SunshineFest 2026! #FOIA

😞

Happy #FOIAFriday! Just got a response to a FOIA request I submitted to DOJ's Criminal Division in .... *checks notes* 2016!

1. Here's the tense moment when USIP outside counsel George Foote comes face-to-face with Kenneth Jackson, the Trump-installed new president of USIP, and the DOGE team. Jackson refuses to shake Foote's hand. “I’m asking the questions, not you,” Jackson says. DOGE staffers won't ID themselves.

So proud to be part of the legal team that won this bodycam video for @marisakabas.bsky.social! Read her story and watch the videos -->

With free legal help from @rcfp.org attorneys, @marisakabas.bsky.social obtained almost six hours of bodycam footage that shed light on a DOGE takeover of the US Institute of Peace building.

Read Kabas's latest reporting on the raid after reviewing the newly disclosed videos:

Police body cam footage shows DOGE knew Institute of Peace was private property during raid Footage obtained by The Handbasket’s lawsuit shows a hostile takeover on March 17, 2025.

Body cam footage shows Kenneth Jackson, the Trump-installed new USIP President; Laken Rapier, Jackson’s Chief-of-Staff; DOGE workers Nate Cavanaugh and Justin Fox; and DOGE lawyer Justin Aimonetti were present at the raid. MPD let them in through a side door, despite USIP staff's objections.

Police body cam footage shows DOGE knew Institute of Peace was private property during raid Footage obtained by The Handbasket’s lawsuit shows a hostile takeover on March 17, 2025.

SCOOP — Body camera footage obtained as a result of my lawsuit against the DC Metropolitan PD confirms DOGE and the Trump administration openly admitted they were entering private property when they raided the building on March 17, 2025. That didn't stop MPD from breaking down the doors.

My report:

If DHS's own AI #FOIA chatbot drafts a request, must the agency process it without complaint? 🤔

There are some good uses for AI in FOIA. This is not a good one. DHS's own chatbot recommends asking for "all records . . . related to . . ." which the government constantly argues is too broad

a still from body cam footage from 3/17/25 that i obtained through a lawsuit. shows an MPD officer taking a cookie from the reception desk at the US institute of peace building with the USIP sign visible in the background during the DOGE raid on the building.

portrait of the second trump administration