National News

• Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) is blocking President Obama’s nominee to lead the FCC over political disclosure issues. Cruz intends to hold the nomination until Tom Wheeler clarifies wether he would require more disclosure about the donors funding political ads on TV. (The Hill)
• As I’ve covered in the past, the American League of Lobbyists is looking for a new name with a little less Lobbyist in it. Now, the post is trying to help them out by crowd-sourcing serious, and not so serious, suggestions. (Washington Post)
• The shutdown didn’t stop campaigns from reporting their third quarter fundraising hauls, and the results raise some interesting questions heading into 2014. (Roll Call)

International News

• The French national data catalog was recently updated to include 15 open data sets related to the draft 2014 budget bill that is currently being considered in the National Assembly. (EPSIplatform)
• The Public Intelligence Project uses mapping platform Ushahidi to bring transparency to censorship and freedom of speech violation’s throughout the world. (Ushahidi)

State and Local News

• Earlier this week the Oakland City Council approved an Open Data Policy that requires the city’s public data to be made available in useable formats proactively. The policy itself was written in an open, citizen focused fashion. (Oakland Local)
• A federal judge ruled that emails between a government lawyer and Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell are not protected under attorney-client privilege. The emails, which a judge found did not meet the standards of attorney-client privilege for a variety of reasons, are tied to an investigation into potential improper dealings between the governor and a political donor. (POLITICO)

Events Today

• Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative Update and Feedback Call. Project on Government Oversight. Fri. 10/18. 12:00 – 1:30 pm. POGO, Conference Room, 1100 G Street NW, Suite 500, Washington DC.

Do you want to track transparency news? You can view our feed on our Netvibes page and follow the progress of relevant bills on our Scout page. You can also get 2Day in #OpenGov sent directly to your preferred news reader!