Before Virginia Military Institute cadets were photographed in blackface in yearbooks, they fought to preserve slavery during the Civil War in the Battle of New Market. The 2015 film Field of Lost Shoes - produced with $1 million in Virginia public funds - chronicles that battle.

The FCC has released 45 complaints it received regarding Super Bowl 50, mostly concerning the half-time show. And if you’ve seen the Saturday Night Live sketch “The Day Beyoncé Turned Black,” you already have a pretty good idea of where this is going.

C.J. Ciaramella filed his first MuckRock request in March 2013, and most recently obtained the DEA’s training materials on parallel construction. For this week’s Requester’s Voice, CJ outlines how public records bring together journalists and activists from across the political spectrum.

After the Marines Corps refused to release Beyoncé’s vocal tracks, I filed a request for the processing notes. What I found: Beyoncé truly is a law unto herself.

While Jay-Z and Beyoncé were accused of - and admired for - appearing above the law by spending their wedding anniversary in Cuba in April, it turns out they file the same paperwork as the rest of us.