Presidential Pardons Heavily Favor Whites
To avoid repeating a scandal like his predecessor’s, George W. Bush gave career lawyers in the Justice Department far-reaching authority to choose who got presidential pardons. The result: Whites are nearly four times as likely as minorities to win a pardon, even when the type of crime and severity of sentence are taken into account.
Government Cans Proposal to Hide Records
Controversial FOIA proposal would have allowed the government to say certain records didn’t exist, even if they did. The Department of Justice has pulled that proposal.
Government Could Hide Existence of Records under FOIA Rule Proposal
A proposed rule to the Freedom of Information Act would allow federal agencies to tell people requesting certain law-enforcement or national security documents that records don’t exist – even when they do.
Buckeye State is Longtime Leader in Breakaway Beasts
Ohio doesn’t regulate ownership of wild animals, so the release of dangerous animals isn’t new.
The Opportunity Gap
ProPublica analyzed new data from the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights along with other federal education data to examine whether states provide students equal access.
Some States Still Leave Low-Income Students Behind; Others Make Surprising Gains
A ProPublica analysis shows Florida stands out where many other states, like Kansas, fall short.
Villages Testify to Disparity in Benefits Alaska Native Corporations Provide
Congress created the system of Alaska Native Corporations with the promise of bringing prosperity to a scattered indigenous population stuck in poverty. The corporations have created pockets of success but not a wide-scale solution for joblessness and substance abuse.
FOIA b(3) Exemptions
Information about watermelon handlers, avocado importers and caves are some of the categories of information that have been withheld from federal Freedom of Information Act requesters using sections of laws that are otherwise unrelated to disclosure. There are hundreds of such laws, according to data compiled by the Sunshine in Government Initiative. They fall under number three -- known as b(3) -- of the nine exemptions. Use our database to see how extensively agencies use b(3) exemptions.