News from the South - Louisiana News Feed
Data privacy experts call DOGE actions ‘alarming’
by Paige Gross, Louisiana Illuminator
March 29, 2025
While the role and actions of the Elon Musk-headed Department of Government Efficiency remain somewhat murky, data privacy experts have been tracking the group’s moves and documenting potential violations of federal privacy protections.
Before President Donald Trump took office in January, he characterized DOGE as an advisory body, saying it would “provide advice and guidance from outside of government” in partnership with the the White House and Office of Management and Budget in order to eliminate fraud and waste from government spending.
But on Inauguration day, Trump’s executive order establishing the group said Musk would have “full and prompt access to all unclassified agency records, software systems and IT systems.”
In the nine weeks since its formation, DOGE has been able to access sensitive information from the Treasury Department payment system, information about the headcount and budget of an intelligence agency and Americans’ Social Security numbers, health information and other demographic data. Musk and department staffers are also using artificial intelligence in their analysis of department cuts.
Though the Trump administration has not provided transparency around what the collected data is being used for, several federal agencies have laid off tens of thousands of workers, under the direction of DOGE, in the past two months. Thousands have been cut from the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Education, Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Treasury this month.
Frank Torres, senior AI and privacy adviser for The Leadership Conference’s Center for Civil Rights and Technology, which researches the intersection of civil rights and technology, said his organization partnered with the Center for Democracy and Technology, which researches and works with legislators on tech topics, to sort out what DOGE was doing. The organizations published a resource sheet documenting DOGE’s actions, the data privacy violations they are concerned about and the lawsuits that several federal agencies have filed over DOGE’s actions.
“It doesn’t have to be this way,” Torres said. “I mean, there are processes and procedures and protections in place that are put in place for a reason, and it doesn’t appear that DOGE is following any of that, which is alarming.”
The organizations outlined potential violations of federal privacy protections, like the Privacy Act of 1974, which prohibits the disclosure of information without written consent, and substantive due process under the Fifth Amendment, which protects privacy from government interference.
White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Harrison Fields would not say if DOGE planned to provide more insight into its plans for the data it is accessing.
“Waste, fraud and abuse have been deeply entrenched in our broken system for far too long,” Fields told States Newsroom in an emailed statement. “It takes direct access to the system to identify and fix it. DOGE will continue to shine a light on the fraud they uncover as the American people deserve to know what their government has been spending their hard earned tax dollars on.”
The lack of transparency concerns U.S. Reps. Gerald E. Connolly, (D-Virginia) and Jamie Raskin, (D-Maryland), who filed a Freedom of Information Act request this month requesting DOGE provide clear answers about its operations.
The request asks for details on who is in charge at DOGE, the scope of its authority to close federal agencies and lay off federal employees, the extent of its access to sensitive government sensitive databases and for Musk to outline how collected data may benefit his own companies and his foreign customers. They also questioned the feeding of sensitive information into AI systems, which DOGE touted last month.
“DOGE employees, including teenage and twenty-something computer programmers from Mr. Musk’s own companies, have been unleashed on the government’s most sensitive databases — from those containing national security and classified information to those containing the personal financial information of all Americans to those containing the trade secrets and sensitive commercial data of Mr. Musk’s competitors,” the representatives wrote in the request.
Most Americans have indeed submitted data to the federal government which can now be accessed by DOGE, said Elizabeth Laird, the director of equity in civic technology for the Center for Democracy and Technology — whether it be via a tax filing, student loan or Social Security. Laird said the two organizations see huge security concerns with how DOGE is collecting data and what it may be doing with the information. In the first few weeks of its existence, a coder discovered that anyone could access the database that posted updates to the DOGE.gov website.
“We’re talking about Social Security numbers, we’re talking about income, we’re talking about, you know, major life events, like whether you had a baby or got married,” Laird said. “We’re talking about if you’ve ever filed bankruptcy — like very sensitive stuff, and we’re talking about it for tens of millions of people.”
With that level of sensitive information, the business need should justify the level of risk, Laird said.
DOGE’s use of AI to comb through and categorize Americans’ data is concerning to Laird and Torres, as AI algorithms can produce inaccurate responses, pose security risks themselves and can have biases that lead to discrimination against marginalized groups.
While Torres, Laird and their teams plan to continue tracking DOGE’s actions and their potential privacy violations, they published the first resource sheet to start bringing awareness to the information that is already at risk. The data collection they’ve seen so far in an effort to cut federal spending is concerning, but both said they fear Americans’ data could end up being used in ways we don’t yet know about.
“The government has a wealth of data on all of us, and I would say data that’s probably very valuable on the open market,” Torres said. “It’s almost like a dossier on us from birth to death.”
Musk fired back at critics in an interview with Fox News published Thursday.
“They’ll say what we’re doing is somehow unconstitutional or illegal or whatever,” he said. “We’re like, ‘Well, which line of the cost savings do you disagree with?’ And they can’t point to any.”
Last updated 2:43 p.m., Mar. 28, 2025
Louisiana Illuminator is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Greg LaRose for questions: info@lailluminator.com.
The post Data privacy experts call DOGE actions ‘alarming’ appeared first on lailluminator.com
News from the South - Louisiana News Feed
New Orleans Weather Impact: Strong storms are set to arrive early Monday
SUMMARY: New Orleans is preparing for strong storms on Monday, with the potential for severe weather as a cold front approaches. The day is expected to be the only active weather day this week, with rain chances peaking at around 60% from morning to early afternoon. Temperatures will be in the lower 80s, following a record high of 86 degrees. After Monday, the weather is predicted to be warm and dry, with highs rising close to 90 by the week’s end. Although the week will start warm and humid, a chance of rain may return next weekend.

Meteorologist Alexandra Cranford says most rain will happen from morning to early afternoon Monday.
News from the South - Louisiana News Feed
Lauren Betts and UCLA reach first Final Four of women’s NCAA Tournament, beating LSU 72-65
SUMMARY: UCLA defeated LSU 72-65 to reach its first women’s NCAA Final Four, with Lauren Betts scoring 17 points, seven rebounds, and six blocks despite sitting out the second quarter due to foul trouble. Gabriela Jaquez added 18 points and Timea Gardiner contributed 15. Betts credited her teammates for holding the lead while she was sidelined. LSU’s Flau’Jae Johnson led with 28 points, but UCLA maintained control in the final quarter, with Jaquez’s three-pointer sealing the win. The Bruins will face the winner of Southern California vs. UConn in the Final Four in Tampa.
The post Lauren Betts and UCLA reach first Final Four of women's NCAA Tournament, beating LSU 72-65 appeared first on wgno.com
News from the South - Louisiana News Feed
As Sundance leaves, Utah Gov. Cox allows first-in-the-nation flag ban to become law without his pen
by Katie McKellar, Louisiana Illuminator
March 30, 2025
SALT LAKE CITY — Saying Utahns are “tired of culture war bills that don’t solve the problems they intend to fix,” Utah Gov. Spencer Cox will allow a bill aimed at banning many flags — including pride or LGBTQ+ flags — from schools and all government buildings to become law without his signature.
Cox explained his reasoning in a letter to legislative leaders issued with just over an hour to spare before his midnight deadline Thursday to sign or veto bills passed by the 2025 Utah Legislature.
“HB77 has been one of the most divisive bills of the session, and I am deeply disappointed that it did not land in a better place,” wrote Cox, who also explained he agreed with the intent behind the legislation. “My understanding is that there was a deal on a compromise that would have removed problematic portions of the bill while retaining others that would support political neutrality in the classroom. Sadly the sponsors did not move that deal forward.”
Supporters of HB77, sponsored by Rep. Trevor Lee, R-Layton, argued it was meant to promote “political neutrality” in government spaces. But critics argued a broad ban that extended to all government properties would invite free speech litigation while also leaving some Utahns, especially the LGBTQ+ community, feeling unwelcome and erased.
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Now slated to take effect on May 7, HB77 will ban almost all flags from being displayed on or in public buildings, except for flags explicitly allowed in a prescriptive list included in the bill, such as the U.S. flag, the state flag, military flags, Olympic flags, college or university flags, or others. Pride flags or other LGBTQ+ flags — which Utah lawmakers in recent years have repeatedly tried to bar from schools in various ways — would be prohibited.
It’s slated to make Utah the first state in the nation to enact such sweeping flag restrictions in government-owned buildings. The Idaho Legislature recently passed a similar bill, HB41, which Gov. Brad Little signed last week, but that legislation won’t take effect until July 1 and it only applies to schools. Idaho lawmakers are also advancing a separate bill to restrict government entities from displaying certain types of flags.
Utah’s largest LGBTQ+ rights group, Equality Utah, had negotiated with lawmakers on the bill, which originally focused the flag ban on school classrooms. However, in a House committee last month, Lee changed the legislation to broaden the flag ban to all government property, leading Equality Utah to oppose the bill even though it was prepared to take a “neutral” position on its earlier version.
Cox faced numerous calls to veto HB77 from advocacy groups including Equality Utah and the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah, as well as from Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall, whose city hosts the annual Utah Pride Festival. He could have vetoed the bill — but he indicated in his letter that it would likely just be overridden by the GOP-supermajority Utah Legislature. Instead, he’s urging lawmakers to work to fix it.
“I continue to have serious concerns with this bill,” Cox said. “However, because a veto would be overridden, I have decided to allow the bill to go into law without my signature, and urge lawmakers to consider commonsense solutions that address the bill’s numerous flaws.”
Cox encouraged lawmakers to consider allowing the Utah State Board of Education to “go further in ensuring the political neutrality of our classrooms, while also considering repealing the local government piece of this legislation and allowing elected representatives to answer to their own constituents.”
“If you are willing to pursue this kind of solution, you will have an open door in the executive branch,” Cox wrote.
Cox’s comments on the flag ban came after the bill cast final-hour drama over Utah’s multimillion-dollar bid to entice the Sundance Film Festival to stay, with some saying it could impact Utah’s chances.
Earlier Thursday, festival organizers announced they’d opted to move the event to Colorado to help the festival grow. By the time they’d reached their decision, Cox had not yet acted on HB77, but a veto was looking unlikely.
While Cox told reporters last week Sundance organizers had told state leaders “very clearly that political issues have nothing to do with the decision,” others, including Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall, worried that HB77 could indeed be “harmful to our effort to retain Sundance.”
In the end, Utah lost its bid. Cox — who earlier Thursday called Sundance’s decision a “mistake” — also included a note in his letter that he’ll be calling a special session to address, among other issues, what the Legislature should instead do with the $3.5 million it had set aside as part of Utah’s bid to keep Sundance.
“Let’s reappropriate that money to efforts in Utah to create a new festival and a world-class film economy right here in our state,” he said.
Cox says he agrees with ‘underlying intent’ but HB77 has flaws
Cox, in his letter, dove deeper into why he had misgivings with HB77 but said he agreed with the “underlying intent” of the bill.
“I deeply believe that our classrooms need to be a place where everyone feels welcome — free from the politics that are fracturing our country,” Cox wrote. “Parents are rightly upset when they bring their kids to publicly funded schools and see culture-war symbols in a place that should be apolitical. In an attempt to make some kids feel more welcome, other kids feel less welcome.”
Cox also said he appreciated that the bill is “neutral on the types of flags in question,” while adding that “I find it strange that no headline reads ‘MAGA flags banned from classrooms.’”
“I agree with the underlying intent of those legislators who supported this bill in an attempt to bring political neutrality to the classroom,” he said, though he added, “Unfortunately, this bill does not do that.”
He said because it’s aimed at only flags, “there is little preventing countless other displays — posters, signs, drawings, furniture — from entering the classroom.”
“To those legislators who supported this bill, I’m sure it will not fix what you are trying to fix,” Cox said.
He noted that many schools have already enacted their own “political neutrality” policies in classrooms, and he argued “we have a better place” to make regulations: the Utah State Board of Education. While he said the board has already set expectations for political neutrality in teacher code of conduct, “I believe more needs to be done by USBE to provide direction in this regard.”
“I have asked the Board of Education to continue their work to find ways to make our classrooms both more politically neutral and more welcoming to every student to exercise their own individual freedom of expression,” Cox said. “The idea that kids can only feel welcome in a school if a teacher puts up a rainbow flag is just wrong. Let’s do everything possible to make our classrooms one of the last remaining politically neutral places in our state.”
Cox says bill goes ‘too far’
The governor added that the flag ban “goes too far” by extending the ban to local governments.
“While I think it’s wrong for city and county officials to fly divisive flags, I believe that election have consequences and the best way to stop that behavior is to elect people who believe differently,” Cox said. “All this bill does is add more fuel to the fire, and I suspect it will only ratchet up the creative use of political symbolism.”
Ultimately, Cox urged legislators to focus on solutions rather than legislation that deepens divides.
“As tired as Utahns are of politically divisive symbols, I think they are also tired of culture war bills that don’t solve the problems they intend to fix,” he said.
The governor urged lawmakers to work with the LGBTQ+ community, as they have in the past, to find common ground.
“Utah has always had a reputation of trying to find a way to work together and solve issues between sides that have strongly-held, opposing points of view,” Cox said. “There are so many examples of the LGBTQ community and the conservative community coming together to find helpful and hopeful compromise. I hope we can retain this as our model and North Star.”
The governor also shared a message directly to LGBTQ+ Utahns, acknowledging that “recent legislation has been difficult.”
“Politics can be a bit of a blood sport at times and I know we have had our disagreements,” he said. “I want you to know that I love and appreciate you and I am grateful that you are part of our state. I know these words may ring hollow to many of you, but please know that I mean them sincerely.”
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This report was first published by the Utah News Dispatch, part of the States Newsroom nonprofit news network. It’s supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Utah News Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor McKenzie Romero for questions: info@utahnewsdispatch.com.
Louisiana Illuminator is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Greg LaRose for questions: info@lailluminator.com.
This report was first published by the Utah News Dispatch, part of the States Newsroom nonprofit news network. It’s supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Utah News Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor McKenzie Romero for questions: info@utahnewsdispatch.com.
The post As Sundance leaves, Utah Gov. Cox allows first-in-the-nation flag ban to become law without his pen appeared first on lailluminator.com
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