The Fairness Doctrine, formerly a cornerstone of broadcasting rules, will be deleted from the Federal Communications Commisssion’s regulations. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski announced the action Monday, as part of a larger agency effort to review and revise media rules. Genachowski also announced the elimination of 82 other rules the agency believes are no longer needed. [...]

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced Monday that more than $103 million in federal funds will go toward helping expand broadband Internet services to rural communities. The USDA funds will support 23 projects in 16 states, including an Oklahoma community damaged by a tornado earlier this year. “These loans and grants will bring the benefits of [...]

On the heels of nine natural disasters costing $35 billion total, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration wants to help better prepare America for severe weather. NOAA’s “weather-ready” nation initiative is a partnership with other agencies, researchers and the private sector. NOAA said the initiative strives to protect both lives and property from severe weather [...]

Aneesh Chopra, the nation’s chief technology officer, asked for public feedback in a White house blog post earlier this month on increasing transparency in government. Many respondents asked questions regarding the Open Government Plan, leading Chopra to respond with another blog post Monday. The Open Government Plan is part of the White House’s Open Government [...]

The Postal Regulatory Commission, charged with oversight over the Postal Service, announced it is proposing new rules for appealing potential post office closings. The Postal Service announced in July it is reviewing more than 3,600 post offices for closure or consolidation to help solve its financial problems. The proposed rules would suspend a closure until [...]

Congress has failed first responders by not acting on legislation to establish a nationwide public safety network, Tom Ridge said Friday. The nation’s first Homeland Security Secretary told AOL Government it is unlikely anything will pass before the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. “It’s wrong. It’s really wrong for them to have failed these [...]

Ten years on from the 9/11 attacks, intelligence agencies are still struggling to strengthen the information sharing networks that broke down in 2001, says a report from the Congressional Research Service. The Hill reports the CRS issued a 33-page report on outstanding intelligence issues that Congress needs to address. The CRS found the U.S. is [...]

Any changes to the current military retirement system will not affect current service members, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Friday. Robert Gates, Panetta’s predecessor, asked the Defense Business Board to make recommendations on modifying the current 20-year retirement system. The final report is due this month. AFPS reports Panetta made the remarks during a roundtable [...]

The Internal Revenue Service’s plans to implement new rules for reporting credit card transactions could create burdens for taxpayers and problems for the IRS, a Treasury Department audit says. The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration conducted the report, issued July 26 and released Thursday. Under the 2008 Housing and Economic Recovery Act, banks and [...]

The Securities and Exchange Commission is coming under fire on the heels of a whistleblower claiming the agency destroyed records of preliminary investigations once they are shut. The National Archives released a statement Thursday criticizing the SEC, citing an agreement to stop the illegal destruction of preliminary investigation files, or Matters Under Inquiry files. The [...]