A government panel calls for the end of the National Security Agency’s phone surveillance program. The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board says it’s illegal, should be abandoned and the records destroyed. After months of study, the board says it could not find a single example of the program’s effectiveness against terrorism. Executive Director Sharon Bradford Franklin has more.

With snowstorms over here, wildfires over there, it’s peak season for National Weather Service forecasters. It actually seems like peak season is year-round.

But the agency is hampered by a staffing shortage, according to an employees group. There are 451 vacancies. The National Weather Service Employees Organization says the agency can, and should, fill them. NWSEO President Dan Sobien joined Tom and Emily.

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The Navy is developing business processes that anticipate uncertainty. Guess it’s learned from the turmoil on Capitol Hill over the federal budget. Federal News Radio DoD Reporter Jared Serbu has more.

Trial by fire, or snow? How did new Office of Personnel Management Director Katherine Archuleta handle the closings this week? Federal News Radio Web Manager Julia Ziegler tells us your thoughts.

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Need a fresh way to solve mission-critical problems? Look to Challenge.gov. That’s where agencies have launched more than 300 competitions and awarded millions of dollars in prizes.

The digital platform has earned a top award from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. It’s the first federal winner of the innovations award in nearly a decade. Federal News Radio Executive Editor Jason Miller has more.

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The Information Technology Alliance for Public Sector — get used to that name. It’s the youngest industry association in the federal community. It’s facing two uphill battles. It is trying to influence forthcoming changes to the federal procurement system. And it’s trying to attract new members as it battles a $5 million lawsuit from a rival. Federal News Radio’s Jason Miller has details.

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