National & World Headlines
Federal officials say they have asked the FBI to consider criminal charges against more than 250 unruly airline passengers since late 2021. The Federal Aviation Administration said Thursday that 17 of those cases have been referred to the FBI in the first three months of this year. That's a slower pace, and it seems tied to a decline in passengers acting up on planes since a judge struck down the requirement for passengers to wear masks. The FAA can levy civil fines for misbehaving on planes, but it has to ask the FBI to file criminal charges in the most serious cases.
April 13, 2023-
The Pentagon says online leaks of scores of highly classified documents about the Ukraine war present a “very serious” risk to national security and senior leaders are quickly taking steps to mitigate the damage. In the days since Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin became aware of the leaks, he's reached out to top allies, convened daily meetings to assess the damage and set up a group not only to assess the scope of the information lost but review who has access to those briefings. And as the public airing of the data sends shockwaves across the U.S. government, the White House says there are concerns there could be additional leaks.
April 10, 2023 -
The Justice Department has launched an investigation into the possible release of Pentagon documents that were posted on several social media sites and appear to detail U.S. and NATO aid to Ukraine, but may have been altered or used as part of a misinformation campaign. The documents, which were posted on sites such as Twitter, are labeled secret and resemble routine updates that the U.S. military’s Joint Staff would produce daily but not distribute publicly. They are dated ranging from Feb. 23 to March 1, and provide what appears to be details on the progress of weapons and equipment going into Ukraine with more precise timelines and amounts than the U.S. generally provides publicly.
April 07, 2023 -
Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy says he’s growing increasingly concerned about President Joe Biden’s unwillingness to negotiate on lifting the nation’s borrowing authority. He says in a letter to the president dated Tuesday that the White House position “could prevent America from meeting its obligations and hold dire ramifications for the entire nation.” The White House says McCarthy and the Republicans are to blame, refusing to put forward their own budget plan before formal negotiations. The Treasury Department has resorted to “extraordinary measures” to avoid default on the nation’s $31.4 trillion borrowing authority. But those measures will run out, possibly as early as June.
March 28, 2023 -
The U.S. government will restrict its use of commercial spyware tools that have been used to surveil human rights activists, journalists and dissidents around the world. President Joe Biden's order responds to growing U.S. and global concerns about programs that can capture text messages and other cellphone data. Some programs — so-called “zero-click” exploits — can infect a phone without the user clicking on a malicious link. While the U.S. and other governments routinely collect huge amounts of data, advocates warn that the commercial spyware market creates new opportunities for abuse and repression.
March 27, 2023 -
At least one program of the EPA has had consistent support regardless of the administration or the makeup of Congress. It's called WaterSense and it's aimed at plugging household leaks thought to result in billions and billions of wasted gallons.
March 24, 2023 -
Given everything that happened in the pandemic of 2020, one would think the government would have learned a thing or two about bio responses. It has learned a lot, actually. But there is more work to do, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
March 22, 2023 -
Among the longtime Native American tribes, consider the Muwekma Ohlone tribe. It once occupied land in what is now in California's Santa Clara and San Francisco counties. The Bureau of Indian Affairs recognizes nearly 600 indigenous tribes, but not the Muwekma Ohlone.
March 20, 2023 -
Officials have informed members of the House and Senate and their staffs that hackers may have gained access to their sensitive personal data in a breach of a Washington, D.C., health insurance marketplace.
March 09, 2023 -
The Treasury Department’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service is looking to modernize the way the federal government does business — and giving agencies a status update on its goals through the end of the decade.
March 06, 2023 -
A really busy and contentious time for Congress kicks off this week when the Biden Administration releases its 2024 budget request. But that's not all.
March 06, 2023 -
Defense officials are telling Congress that the military services are still reviewing possible discipline of troops who refused the order to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Officials provided few details on how many of those who were forced out of the military would like to return. During a congressional hearing Tuesday, lawmakers questioned why service members should still face discipline since the vaccine requirement has been rescinded. The undersecretary of defense for personnel, Gilbert Cisneros Jr., told a House Armed Services subcommittee that some service members who disobeyed the lawful order to get the vaccine — and did not seek any type of exemption — are still going through the review process.
February 28, 2023 -
There was a major breach of a U.S. Marshals Service computer system this month with ransomware. Hackers stole sensitive and personally identifiable data about agency employees and targets of investigations.
February 28, 2023 -
The latest poll of Americans' satisfaction with service they get from the federal government is up. But with a score of 66 out of 100, the American Customer Satisfaction Index is still below pre-pandemic levels.
February 22, 2023 -
A cybersecurity catastrophe appears to be brewing. Kaniah Konkoly-Thege points to several signs out there that don't bode well for critical data or critical infrastructure.
February 21, 2023