One week after President Trump fired the head of the National Archives and Records Administration, the second-in-command, the deputy archivist, has informed colleagues of his intent to retire, a source familiar with the situation confirmed to CBS News Friday.

William “Jay” Bosanko served as chief operating officer for the National Archives when the FBI served a search warrant on Mar-a-Lago in August 2022 in order to seize boxes of Trump records, including classified material, that the agency said had not been properly transferred to the Archives at the conclusion of Mr. Trump’s first term.

According to two sources familiar with the situation, Bosanko was pushed out by Jim Byron, a 31-year old who was recently president of the Richard Nixon Foundation. Byron delivered Bosanko an ultimatum: Resign now or be fired next week.

Reached by phone Friday evening, Byron declined to comment.

Byron has been working out of the Archives’ offices as a political appointee representing the White House. Byron has often described himself as a mentee of Hugh Hewitt, an ardent pro-Trump commentator who preceded Bryon as head of the Nixon Foundation and who now sits on its board. (The Nixon Foundation and the Archives have occasionally been in conflict with each other, which often happens with presidential foundations and the government agency that oversees presidential libraries, according to an Archives source.)

The first notice to staff came in an email Friday from Deputy Archivist William J. Bosanko, who told members of his team that he was retiring and that it had been “a privilege and an honor to work” at the Archives for the last 32 years.

If you have been waiting for the right to test or gift a DNA kit, this is it.   Order MyHeritage DNA today We recently updated our Ethnicity Estimate model, which nearly doubled the percentage-based ethnicities identified by MyHeritage from 42 to 79. MyHeritage DNA also pinpoints your origins across 2,114 geographic regions, reveals matches to new relatives around the world, and offers the most comprehensive set of genetic genealogy tools available.

President Trump named Jim Byron, the president and CEO of the Richard Nixon Foundation, to a senior archivist role at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).

In a post Sunday on Truth Social, Trump said he was pleased to announce Byron would be serving as “Senior Advisor to our Acting Archivist, United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, at the National Archives and Records Administration.”

“Jim will manage the National Archives on a day-to-day basis, while we continue our search for a full-time Archivist,” Trump posted. “Jim has worked with the National Archives for many years, and understands the great responsibility and duty we have to preserve the History of our Great Country.”

Shortly before taking office, Trump said he would be replacing the NARA leader. According to federal law, the president has the power to fire the archivist but must tell Congress the reasoning for removal.

Trump dismissed Colleen Shogan, the first woman to lead NARA, last week.

Earlier Sunday, it was reported by The Washington Post that the acting archivist and several senior staff members at NARA resigned. It’s the latest in agency shake-ups as Trump looks to restructure the federal government and its spending.

The following is a press release issued by the Strathclyde Institute for Genealogical Studies:

Strathclyde Institute for Genealogical Studies have developed an online database of papal dispensations for marriage, intended for use in genealogical investigation.

Until recently, the papal dispensations granted for marriages in Britain and Ireland between those related within the prohibited degrees and covering the period 1198 to 1534 were not available in a single place online.

The ‘Papal Dispensations for Marriage Project’ funded by the Foundation for Medieval Genealogy, has been focusing on creating a database that will initially cover volumes 1 to 20 and volume 23 part 1, by extracting entries relating to marriage – specifically papal dispensations for marriage – from the published calendars of papal registers/letters in a consistent format, to develop a searchable online database.

The aim of the project is the ongoing development of an easily accessible online relational database that will be useful for academic and genealogical research by medieval historians and in particular by medieval genealogical researchers.

The papal dispensations database can be viewed and searched by visiting https://papaldispensations.org.uk/

Toronto police say they have cracked a 1998 cold case after arresting a suspect wanted for the death of a 24-year-old woman, who was sex trade worker at the time, using genetic genealogy.

Det. Sgt. Steve Smith made the announcement on Friday in the homicide case of Donna Oglive, who was found dead on March 8, 1998 at a rear parking lot of 130 Carlton St., near Jarvis Street, by a concerned resident.

“It looks like it may have been a sex trade transaction, and it ended in the death of Ms. Oglive,” Smith said, adding she died by strangulation and was pregnant at the time of her death. She also had another child.

Oglive was a resident of British Columbia and was in Toronto for five weeks before she was found dead, police said.

On Wednesday, Smith said officers arrested Ronald Gordon Ackerman, a 50-year-old man from Gander, N.L., at Toronto Pearson airport. Ackerman was on a flight from Edmonton and was intercepted in Toronto.

He has been charged with first-degree murder.

“It’s our belief he was a client that night,” Smith said, but noted he did not know if it was consistent or just the one time.

The area of 130 Carlton St. at the time was just a large parking lot and Smith said “there was a lot of sexual activity from sex trade workers at that parking lot.”

Smith said it was the use of investigative genetic genealogy (IGG) with the help of Othram Inc. that led investigators to the offender’s family from a DNA sample. Investigators had developed a male DNA profile from evidence collected at the scene but no match was ever found, police said.

IGG is a forensic technique used by law enforcement when all other leads have been exhausted, as it can identify relatives of the person whose DNA was found at the crime scene. Investigators then use that information to zero in on a suspect.

“It’s really a game-changer for us,” Smith said. “This change in science has really allowed us to look at DNA in a different way, if we have offender DNA, to solve virtually any case that’s out there.”

Smith said Ackerman was working in the oil fields in northern Alberta for two weeks at a time and then flying back to the East Coast for the other two weeks.

“These historical cases, they’ve gone on for so long…. We have over 800 historical homicides alone. When you’re able to solve these cases, it’s a great feeling. You’re able to notify the family,” Smith said.

“When these people are still alive that they have to face justice.”

"The U.S.Census Bureau is conducting its Race/Ethnicity Coding Improvement Project, which provides an opportunity for the public to provide feedback on how detailed race and/or ethnicity and American Indian or Alaska Native populations will be coded when the combined race/ethnicity question is implemented in the ACS and the 2030 Census. As in previous updates to the code list, all updates will be based on three criteria: (1) Federal scientific research and evidence; (2) stakeholder feedback, and (3) alignment with the U.S. Office of Management and Budget's updated 2024 Statistical Policy Directive No. 15 (see https://spd15revision.gov). The Census Bureau anticipates publishing a summary of the feedback received and the final code list in a future notice. An upcoming live question-and-answer webinar will provide an opportunity for the public to ask any procedural questions about how to respond to this Notice."

“As part of the Race/Ethnicity Coding Improvement Project, the U.S. Census Bureau (Census Bureau) is seeking feedback on the proposed race/ethnicity code list that will be used when the combined race/ethnicity question is implemented in the American Community Survey (ACS) and the 2030 Census. The Census Bureau aims to enhance and improve the code list that was used in the 2020 Census and is currently used in the ACS to ensure that detailed race and/or ethnicity responses are accurately coded and tabulated in future data collections.”

The Census Bureau is seeking feedback on how race and/or ethnicity and American Indian or Alaska Native populations are coded, and it is not seeking feedback on how the U.S. Office of Management and Budget defined race/ethnicity categories through Statistical Policy Directive No. 15, which are a minimum set of categories that all Federal agencies must use when collecting information on race and ethnicity, regardless of the collection mechanism, as well as additional guidance on the collection, compilation, and dissemination of these data.

 https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/11/18/2024-26827/the-census-bureaus-proposed-raceethnicity-code-list-for-the-american-community-survey-and-the-2030

 Comments must be received on or before February 18, 2025.

 To submit your comments go to:

1. Go to www.regulations.gov and enter Docket Number USBC-2024-0022 in the search field. 

2. Click the “Comment Now!” icon, complete the required fields.

3. Enter or attach your comments. 

 All comments responding to this document will be a matter of public record. Relevant comments will generally be available on the Federal eRulemaking Portal at: https://www.regulations.gov.

 All comments received are part of the public record. All Personally Identifiable Information ( e.g., name and address) voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do not submit Confidential Business Information or otherwise sensitive or protected information. You may submit attachments to electronic comments in Microsoft Word, Excel, or Adobe PDF file formats.

The Census Bureau is seeking feedback on how race and/or ethnicity and American Indian or Alaska Native populations are coded, and it is not seeking feedback on how the U.S. Office of Management and Budget defined race/ethnicity categories through Statistical Policy Directive No. 15, which are a minimum set of categories that all Federal agencies must use when collecting information on race and ethnicity, regardless of the collection mechanism, as well as additional guidance on the collection, compilation, and dissemination of these data.

 https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/11/18/2024-26827/the-census-bureaus-proposed-raceethnicity-code-list-for-the-american-community-survey-and-the-2030

 For questions about this notice, please contact: Roberto Ramirez at Roberto.R.Ramirez@census.gov or (301) 763-6044.

To read more see:

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/11/18/2024-26827/the-census-bureaus-proposed-raceethnicity-code-list-for-the-american-community-survey-and-the-2030

The American Historical Association (AHA) has sent a letter to President Donald J. Trump concerning the removal of the Archivist of the United States, Dr. Colleen J. Shogan, from her position. Federal law requires the president to communicate “reasons for any such removal,” so the AHA “awaits the White House’s compliance with the law by informing Congress of the reasons for Dr. Shogan’s dismissal.”

The AHA’s letter is reproduced below and available on our website.

_______________________________________________________

Dear President Trump:

The Archivist of the United States, Dr. Colleen J. Shogan, has been removed from her position at your direction. Dr. Shogan has served in this nonpartisan role since her appointment was confirmed by the United States Senate on May 10, 2023. Per US federal law, “The Archivist shall be appointed without regard to political affiliations and solely on the basis of the professional qualifications required to perform the duties and responsibilities of the office of Archivist.”

Federal law (44 U.S.C. Chapter 21 § 2103) requires that “The President shall communicate the reasons for any such removal to each House of the Congress.” The Administration has not yet complied with this statute by communicating reasons for Dr. Shogan’s dismissal. The American Historical Association awaits the White House’s compliance with the law by informing Congress of the reasons for Dr. Shogan’s dismissal.

Democracy rests on the rule of law. And the history of the United States rests on unfettered access to the archival record.

Sincerely, 

James R. Grossman

Executive Director

_______________________________________________________

Founded in 1884 and incorporated by Congress in 1889 for the promotion of historical studies, the American Historical Association provides leadership for the discipline and promotes the critical role of historical thinking in public life. The Association defends academic freedom, develops professional standards, supports innovative scholarship and teaching, and helps to sustain and enhance the work of historians. As the largest membership association of professional historians in the world (nearly 11,000 members), the AHA serves historians in a wide variety of professions and represents every historical era and geographical area.

“Access by the people to the records and output of the government is critical,” said Mark Graham, director of the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine and a participant in the EOT Web Archive project. “Much of the material published by the government has health, safety, security and education benefits for us all.”

The EOT Web Archive project is part of the Internet Archive’s daily routine of recording what’s happening on the web. For more than 25 years, the Internet Archive has worked to preserve material from web-based social media platforms, news sources, governments, and elsewhere across the web. Access to these preserved web pages is provided by the Wayback Machine. “It’s just part of what we do day in and day out,” Graham said. 

To support the EOT Web Archive project, the Internet Archive devotes staff and technical infrastructure to focus on preserving U.S. government sites. The web archives are based on seed lists of government websites and nominations from the general public. Coverage includes websites in the .gov and .mil web domains, as well as government websites hosted on .org, .edu, and other top level domains. 

The Internet Archive provides a variety of discovery and access interfaces to help the public search and understand the material, including APIs and a full text index of the collection. Researchers, journalists, students, and citizens from across the political spectrum rely on these archives to help understand changes on policy, regulations, staffing and other dimensions of the U.S. government. 

As an added layer of preservation, the 2024/2025 EOT Web Archive will be uploaded to the Filecoin network for long-term storage, where previous term archives are already stored. While separate from the EOT collaboration, this effort is part of the Internet Archive’s Democracy’s Library project. Filecoin Foundation (FF) and Filecoin Foundation for the Decentralized Web (FFDW) support Democracy’s Library to ensure public access to government research and publications worldwide.

According to Graham, the large volume of material in the 2024/2025 EOT crawl is because the team gets better with experience every term, and an increasing use of the web as a publishing platform means more material to archive. He also credits the EOT Web Archive’s success to the support and collaboration from its partners.

Web archiving is more than just preserving history—it’s about ensuring access to information for future generations.The End of Term Web Archive serves to safeguard versions of government websites that might otherwise be lost. By preserving this information and making it accessible, the EOT Web Archive has empowered researchers, journalists and citizens to trace the evolution of government policies and decisions.

More questions? Visit https://eotarchive.org/ to learn more about the End of Term Web Archive.

Thanks to a £100,000 funding award from the National Lottery Heritage Fund in January 2024, Manchester Libraries has been able to develop the new Manchester Image Archive and to hire a project manager to oversee it.

Currently hosting more than 90,000 images, the upgraded website features a much larger archive with the additional 12,000 images catalogued by a dedicated team of volunteers and through partnership work with The Museum Platform.

The improved system makes it easier than ever to search and discover images of local landmarks, people, and events. Some of the new and improved features include advanced search tools and high-quality image downloads and interactive features to allow users to share memories with libraries and to create their own library of images.

Additional features include:

Councillor John Hacking, Executive Member for Skills, Employment and Leisure said:

"We have been developing this new collection since May last year and have partnered with a great team at The Museum Platform to help us build this new resource. We are thrilled to be able to offer a bigger and better website for all to use and thanks to the hard work of the volunteers and the support of the National Lottery funding we have been able to create a resource that will benefit generations to come."

Explore the Manchester Image Archive website here 

A man has been arrested and charged in the 1998 homicide of a 24-year-old pregnant woman in Toronto after police say they used investigative genetic genealogy to crack the cold case.

Det. Sgt. Steve Smith said Ronald Gordon Ackerman of Gander, N.L., had just gotten off a flight from Edmonton when he was intercepted and arrested at Toronto's Pearson International Airport. 

Ackerman, 50, has been charged with first-degree murder. 

"We knew he was working out in Alberta for two weeks at a time and then flying back to the East Coast for two weeks at a time," Smith said Friday.

"We were able to determine that he was going to be coming through Toronto."

Smith said Donna Oglive was a sex worker form British Columbia and had been in Toronto for only about five weeks when she was allegedly strangled to death by a client in a parking lot on Carlton Street. 

"In Canada, she has very little family, there's only really one person," he said.

Smith said police found a suspect's DNA at the crime scene, but they could not identify the person after running the evidence through a national data bank. 

He said police used investigative genetic geneology to track down the accused man's family last year and have used that technology to solve several cold cases over the last months. 

"Ontario's basically the leader in IGG testing, as you've seen by the number of arrests that we've put forward," he said. "Hopefully we continue this program over the next few years."

Smith said the accused man was living in the east end of Toronto in Scarborough and worked as a truck driver at the time of the homicide.

Police are investigating what he has been doing since then, Smith added.

"We need to find out what he's been doing over the past 25 years and make sure that there are no other victims, whether sexually motivated or homicides that he could be involved (in)," he said.

Smith said police have more than 800 historical homicides alone that are not solved.

"When you're able to solve these cases, it's a great feeling," he said. "It's nice to make sure, especially when these people are still alive, that they have to come and face justice no matter how long it's going to be."

Smith said investigative genetic genealogy will be a big help in finding those offenders.

"Anybody that committed sexual assaults or homicides over the past 40, 50 years, if they're still alive, I mean, they'd be expecting a knock on their door at any point," he said. 

The accused man is remanded in custody in Toronto after he appeared via video link at the Toronto Regional Bail Centre on Thursday.