Federal

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved and recommended for award an application from Washington, D.C., allowing D.C. to request access to more than $3.8 million to implement its Digital Equity Plan. This funding comes from the $1.44 billion State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program, one of three Digital Equity Act grant programs created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. D.C. will use the $3,804,000 in funding to implement key digital equity initiatives, including:  

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved and recommended for award an application from Maine, allowing the state to request access to more than $5.7 million to implement its Digital Equity Plan. This funding comes from the $1.44 billion State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program, one of three Digital Equity Act grant programs created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Maine will use the $5,784,349 in funding to implement key digital equity initiatives, including:  

SpaceX’s effort to put an additional 22,488 satellites into low-earth orbit is facing a formal objection from a Ukrainian-American nonprofit, which says it’s concerned about CEO Elon Musk’s “contacts with Russia and the alleged use of his Starlink system by Russian forces in Ukraine.” In a petition to deny and motion for stay filed with the Federal Communications Commission, the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA) also cited negative 

The Interactive Advertising Bureau, cable industry lobbyists and others asked a federal appellate court to block the Federal Trade Commission's new click-to-cancel rules, which aim to make it easier for consumers to end subscriptions to newspapers, gyms, retailers and other businesses. Those rules require companies to offer subscribers a simple cancellation mechanism, and let consumers cancel subscriptions through the same medium that was used to purchase them.

The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, established by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), provides $42.45 billion of funding to states, territories and the District of Columbia (“Eligible Entities”) for broadband planning, deployment, mapping, equity, and adoption activities.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved and recommended for award applications from Florida, Iowa, Montana, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Guam, allowing them to request access to more than $61.2 million to implement their Digital Equity Plans. This funding comes from the $1.44 billion State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program, one of three Digital Equity Act grant programs created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The states can now request access to:

Thanks to Congress’ work on the infrastructure law, America has the funding to make internet coverage reliable nationwide. Where broadband goes, economic growth and educational opportunity follow. But despite the federal government’s efforts, including decades of work and billions of dollars, too many Americans still lack reliable connection, an unacceptable fact in today’s digital world. The problem boils down to bureaucratic disorganization. Today, over 100 separate initiatives, managed by 15 individual federal agencies, have been deployed to address the digital urban-rural divide.

One of the biggest losers on Election Day was “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion,” the moniker for a movement that appeared to suffer a fatal blow with voters’ support for President-elect Donald Trump. Diversity programs date to the rise of affirmative action decades ago, and have at times enjoyed broad political support.

 A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that TikTok can be banned in the U.S. over national security concerns, upholding a federal law requiring the popular social media app to shed its Chinese ownership to keep operating. The court said Congress has the power to take action against TikTok to protect U.S. interests.

Tom Vilsack has much to say about Democrats and rural America. And for good reason. He’s the longest-serving Democratic agriculture secretary in history, having claimed the office tucked along the National Mall for eight years under former President Barack Obama and now concluding four more years in the post in the Biden administration.