Inside the battle for control of the Library of Congress; Federal News Network, July 1, 2025

 Terry Gerton , Federal News Network; Inside the battle for control of the Library of Congress

"Terry Gerton I’m speaking with Kevin Kosar. He’s a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. So those are interesting theories. And as you mentioned though, the library is a research library, not a lending library. So AI is not going to train itself on printed books. It needs electronic information. What is the impact on the day-to-day operations of the library and the copyright office?

Kevin Kosar Well, right now, certainly, it’s a little anxiety-provoking for people at the Library of Congress, this kind of peculiar state of, are we suddenly going to find ourselves answering to a new boss in the form of the president? They are more than aware of what’s happened at other executive agencies where the president has sent in people from the Department of Government Efficiency and started turning off people’s computers and telling them not to come into work and canceling contracts and doing any number of other things that are, you know, hugely disruptive to workers’ day-to-day life. So there’s that anxiety there. And if this move by the Trump administration plays out, it’s really hard to see what could ultimately occur. One thing that that’s clear to me is that if you have presidential control of the Library of Congress, then the Congressional Research Service is doomed. For those listeners out there who are not familiar with the Congressional Research Service, this is Congress’ think tank. This is about 600 individual civil servants whose job is to provide nonpartisan research, analysis and facts to legislators and their staff to help them better do their jobs. And if you have a president who takes over the library, that president can point the head of the Congressional Research Service and turn it into basically a presidential tool, which would make it useless.

Terry Gerton And the administration has sort of already said that it puts no stock in CRS’s products."

KY library book challenges rose 1,000% in 2024. That’s not a typo. What happened?; Lexington Herald Leader, June 30, 2025

 John Cheves , Lexington Herald Leader; KY library book challenges rose 1,000% in 2024. That’s not a typo. What happened?

"Challenges to Kentucky public library books soared by 1,061% last year, rising from 26 incidents in 2023 to 302 incidents in 2024, according to a recently released state report. That eye-popping number is buried in small type at the bottom of page six of the annual Statistical Report of Kentucky Public Libraries, published in April by the Kentucky Department of Libraries and Archives."

Seattle libraries offer Narcan, fentanyl test strips to combat overdose epidemic; KOMO News, July 1, 2025

 Joel Moreno, KOMO News; Seattle libraries offer Narcan, fentanyl test strips to combat overdose epidemic

"Although library staff have had access to naloxone for emergency use since September 2022, they began providing naloxone and fentanyl test strips for patrons to access themselves in April 2025.

“I feel like the library is doing a good job of providing those resources, but I have personally not seen them, so I'm glad to hear that,” said Sarah Kilpatrick, who was checking out materials at the central branch.

The library's supply of Narcan is available on a self-serve basis. Patrons can simply stop by a library location and pick it up without the need to provide ID, proof of insurance, or a library card to receive the medications.

“I support the decision," said the man who asked not to be identified. "Although they definitely should, and I believe are required to, take a little information from the person they are giving it to, because it is a very expensive product."

Others thought the library was possibly going too far with the program and potentially enabling people’s addictions.

“Educating people, that's OK, but I don't think supplying is a good way,” said NK Das, who questioned giving away free supplies of overdose reversal medication. “The library can educate people about drug use or the misuse of drugs, but I don't think that's the right way of doing things."

Meanwhile, others thought the program should be expanded."

AI is now screening job candidates before humans ever see them; The Washington Post, July 1, 2025

 Danielle Abril, The Washington Post; AI is now screening job candidates before humans ever see them

"Increasingly, job candidates are running into virtual recruiters for screenings. The conversational agents, built on large language models, help recruiting firms and hiring companies respond to every applicant, conduct interviews around-the-clock and find the best candidate in increasingly large talent pools. People who have experienced AI interviews have mixed reviews: surprisingly good or cold and confusing...

According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), a growing number of organizations use AI for recruiting to automate candidate searches and communicate with applicants during the interview process. Job applicants also are increasingly turning to AI to quickly tailor their résumés and cover letters, and to apply instantly. LinkedIn said applications for job openings have jumped 30 percent in the past two years, partially because of AI, with some jobs receiving hundreds of applications within a couple of hours."

Senate megabill marks biggest Medicaid cuts in history; The Hill, July 1, 2025

 NATHANIEL WEIXEL  , The Hill; Senate megabill marks biggest Medicaid cuts in history 

"Senate Republicans on Tuesday passed the largest cuts to Medicaid since the program began in the 1960s, a move that would erode the social safety net and cause a spike in the number of uninsured Americans over the next decade. 

The tax and spending bill is projected to cost more than $3 trillion during that time, but it would be partially paid for with about $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid."

Murkowski Casts Decisive Vote for G.O.P. Policy Bill, Making an ‘Agonizing’ Choice; The New York Times, July 1, 2025

 Annie Karni , The New York Times; Murkowski Casts Decisive Vote for G.O.P. Policy Bill, Making an ‘Agonizing’ Choice

"Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, on Tuesday cast the deciding vote for President Trump’s sprawling bill to slash taxes and social safety net programs, embracing a measure she acknowledged would harm Americans after securing carve outs to protect her constituents from its harshest impacts."

Hollywood Confronts AI Copyright Chaos in Washington, Courts; The Wall Street Journal, July 1, 2025

 Amrith Ramkumar,  Jessica Toonkel, The Wall Street Journal; Hollywood Confronts AI Copyright Chaos in Washington, Courts

Technology firms say using copyrighted materials to train AI models is key to America’s success; creatives want their work protected

Kristi Noem Secretly Took a Cut of Political Donations; ProPublica, June 30, 2025

 Justin Elliott, Joshua Kaplan and Alex Mierjeski , ProPublica; Kristi Noem Secretly Took a Cut of Political Donations

"There is nothing remarkable about a politician raising money for nonprofits and other groups that promote their campaigns or agendas. What’s unusual, experts said, is for a politician to keep some of the money for themselves.

“If donors to these nonprofits are not just holding the keys to an elected official’s political future but also literally providing them with their income, that’s new and disturbing,” said Daniel Weiner, a former Federal Election Commission attorney who now leads the Brennan Center’s work on campaign finance."

DeWine vetoes library material restriction in Ohio budget; WFMJ, July 1, 2025

  

WFMJ; DeWine vetoes library material restriction in Ohio budget

"Ohio Governor Mike DeWine on Monday vetoed a controversial provision in the state's new budget that would have imposed restrictions on public libraries regarding the placement of materials related to sexual orientation or gender identity.

The veto came as DeWine signed the state budget bill. In his statement, the Republican governor expressed concerns about what he described as the "vague restrictions" proposed for libraries.

"No child should have access to inappropriate materials or to materials that their parents or guardians deem inappropriate," DeWine said. "In Ohio, we have strong laws on obscenity and material harmful to juveniles, and the DeWine-Tressel Administration expects those laws to be enforced. Therefore, a veto of this item is in the public interest."

The provision, which had drawn strong opposition from library systems across the state, including the Public Library of Youngstown & Mahoning County, would have required libraries to segregate such materials so they were not visible to patrons under 18.

Library advocates, including the Ohio Library Council (OLC), argued that the language was "overly vague and broad" and "ultimately unworkable." Aimee Fifarek, CEO and director of the Public Library of Youngstown & Mahoning County, previously warned that complying with the mandate could force libraries to "close down" to review and re-code materials, potentially leading to "unconstitutional censorship."