A group representing school superintendents told the Federal Communications Commission it is concerned the FCC's recent notice of proposed rulemaking on E-Rate could lead to the elimination of the program that funds connectivity for schools and libraries, an outcome the group says could lead to "staff reductions or cuts to other areas." The comments, summarizing a series of meetings between school and library advocates and FCC officials, were filed by the School Superintendents Association on Friday, July 10, in response to the FCC's NPRM posing questions on reforming and streamlining E-Rate. Those questions, which included asking whether E-Rate should be targeted solely to rural areas and whether the program should be eliminated entirely, have led to concern and organized pushback from school and library advocates. As the AASA's filing pointed out, E-Rate is "the fifth largest stream of federal funding in the nation's schools," and were it to go away, "school districts will need to pay for internet access using other funds, which could cause staff reductions or cuts to other areas." E-Rate is estimated to serve 100,000 schools, 12,000 school districts and 16,000 library systems across all 50 states. The superintendents group explained that E-Rate is now essential to schools' basic functioning.

Every fiber optic cable carries data as pulses of light traveling through strands of glass. Fiber forms the backbone of today's internet. Yet in the modern day U.S., using light to communicate information requires us to physically lay and bury fiber, costing up to $264,000 per mile. Labor alone drives more than 70 percent of this cost, and securing right-of-way permits can consume months, if not years. While fiber has revolutionized global connectivity, deploying more of it still means digging trenches, securing permits, and laying physical infrastructure. What if that same light could travel through free space instead? For nearly a decade of research and development at X, Google’s Moonshot Factory, the Taara team, too, has pushed the limits of light. Taara’s wireless optical communication unwraps the same frequency of light inside fiber optic cables, and simply beams it over the air, bypassing the limits of physical infrastructure. No cables, no trenching, no permitting challenges. Wireless optics delivers high-speed connectivity where fiber can't reach fast enough: beyond mountains, across rivers, through vast terrain – bridging the several kilometers that unlock access to the fiber backbone of the digital infrastructure. Best of all, beaming light over the air costs about 10 percent the cost of burying fiber.

The American people recognize AI’s threat. In poll after poll, the public is expressing deep concern about, if not outright opposition to, artificial intelligence. Half of Americans reported they were more concerned than excited about the increased use of AI,  57 percent of voters believe the risks of AI outweigh its benefits, 71 percent of Americans think AI is advancing too quickly, and only 18 percent of young people feel hopeful about AI. This polling sends a clear message to policymakers: Congress must regulate AI now. That’s why Senator Markey is releasing the AI Accountability Agenda, which gives us the tools to protect our communities from AI. This agenda includes a slate of comprehensive policies for:

1. Giving the Power Back to Workers;
2. Protecting the Privacy and Safety of Children and Teens;
3. Keeping Civil Rights Safe from AI Bias; (4) Putting Humans First in Healthcare;
4. Safeguarding Against Energy and Environmental Impacts from Data Centers; and
5. Sharing the AI Wealth.

In each issue area, Senator Markey has introduced landmark legislation and assembled wideranging coalitions to address the harms AI poses today. These proposals reject the false choice between technological progress and basic protections for the public. They insist that a democracy powerful enough to send astronauts to the moon is powerful enough to ensure that a technology as transformative as AI serves the American people—not the other way around.

There is a positive relationship between artificial intelligence exposure and labor productivity growth in U.S. industry. But is AI itself responsible for that growth in the sectors most exposed to it? Because AI use varies across countries, we can draw on international data to investigate the relationship between AI exposure and productivity growth at the sector level. The positive relationship in the U.S. fits a pattern visible among countries and appears related to high AI use. U.S. labor productivity has grown at an annualized rate of 2.4 percent since the beginning of 2024. This compares to average productivity growth of 1.6 percent in the five years before the pandemic. Recent productivity growth has been especially strong in the information, finance and insurance, and professional and technical services sectors.

The Media and Democracy Project filed a petition for a writ of mandamus in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit seeking to compel the Federal Communications Commission to act on the group’s long-pending Application for Review of the Media Bureau’s dismissal of MAD’s Petition to Deny the license renewal of Fox-owned television station WTXF in Philadelphia. The filing marks the three-year anniversary of MAD’s original Petition to Deny. MAD argues that Chairman Brendan Carr has unlawfully refused to bring the matter before the full FCC, preventing the organization from obtaining judicial review, while simultaneously expediting similar proceedings that serve President Trump’s political interests. MAD originally filed its Petition to Deny in July 2023, arguing that Fox Corporation’s broadcast license should be reviewed under the Communications Act’s longstanding character requirements following judicial findings in the Dominion Voting Systems litigation that Fox disseminated false claims about the 2020 presidential election. In her final days, Chair Rosenworcel consolidated MAD’s petition and complaints against ABC, CBS, and NBC into a single docket and ordered the Media Bureau and Enforcement Bureau to dismiss each, yet Chairman Carr has treated “alike” matters very differently. After the FCC’s Media Bureau dismissed the petition, MAD filed an Application for Review by the full Commission in February 2025. Seventeen months later, the Commission has taken no action on the Application for Review.