National & World Headlines
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Erin Pitera is the VP of Federal Management Partners and describes how the Navy was able to bring on much sought-after acquisition professionals.
April 20, 2011 -
Security designs for the new Mark Center have been posted online. In a major breach of security, Defense officials admit a document describing the bomb-proofing security plans for the new Defense building were published on a public website for the Army Corps of Engineers.
April 20, 2011 -
Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) sees a perfect storm in the future for federal employees and anyone else trying to commute through his district as a result of BRAC. He tells Federal News Radio he\'s at his wits\' end trying to avert a traffic disaster.
April 20, 2011 -
If you still haven\'t claimed your stop loss special pay, the deadline has been extended to October 21st.
April 20, 2011 -
The chairman of the subcommittee on federal financial management said legislation may be needed to ensure agency accounting procedures are focusing on stopping improper payments. He said progress across the government is good, but more tools are necessary. OMB is testing the Do Not Pay List and plans to launch the full portal in 2012.
April 20, 2011 -
The agency IG wrote a letter to the attorneys for Adair Martinez saying they overstated or misstated the facts about their investigation. George Opfer said his investigators followed protocol during discovery of the allegations of fraud and misconduct by Martinez in their August 2009 report. The MSPB ruled earlier this month that Martinez didn\'t receive due process and was wrongfully terminated.
April 20, 2011 -
James Carafano, director of the Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies at the Heritage Foundation, discusses the possible DoD cuts.
April 19, 2011 -
Russia\'s FSB, the equivalent to the FBI is trying to get access to encrypted communication providers like Skype, Gmail and Hotmail. Reuters is reporting, \"the agency says the uncontrolled use of such services could threaten national security.\" Alexander Andreyechkin, head of the FSB says, \"the uncontrolled use of these services could lead to a large-scale threat to Russian security.\" Critics say what he really wants to do is limit access to the internet ahead of the 2012 elections.
April 19, 2011 -
Israel has rolled out it secret weapon. In the face of renewed shelling from Gaza, The military unveiled something they call the Iron Dome yesterday. It\'s a missile shield. The device intercepted two rockets in its first deployment. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made the announcement while visiting Prague. The Iron Dome fires radar-guided missiles from a truck-sized launcher and which tracks and blows up incoming rockets in mid-air.
April 19, 2011 -
The Associated Press reports: \"Defense Secretary Robert Gates tried to smooth the worst rift in years with Arab ally and oil producer Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, reassuring the Saudi king that the U.S. remains a steady friend despite support for pro-democracy revolutions in the Middle East. The Saudi king, looking thin after months of medical treatment in the United States and elsewhere, welcomed Gates for what the Pentagon chief later said was a cordial and warm visit.\"
April 19, 2011 -
So if there were a government shutdown, how would me and women in uniform be paid? Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said late yesterday the leadership hadn\'t figured that out yet. There are 146,000 service members in Iraq and Afghanistan. He says the Pentagon would continue key national security responsibilities including fighting the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, and continuing operations in Libya and earthquake assistance to Japan.
April 19, 2011 -
Reports about a Third Intifada being organized against Israel apparently were bogus. \"They investigated that Facebook page and they couldn\'t trace it back to any Palestinian individual or organization,\" says Maen Areikat, Representative for the Palestinian Liberation Organization. \"It\'s really interesting to know who is behind it,\" says Areikat. As far as any future Palestinian protests go, he says any future protests, \"continue to be peaceful and not resort to violence.\"
April 19, 2011 -
Alassane Ouattara\'s, President in waiting in the Ivory Coast has declared an overnight curfew in the main city of Abidjan from now until Sunday. A Ouattara spokesman says the curfew was needed \"for security reasons\" and would run from nine o\'clock in the evening through to six o\'clock in the morning each day. Ouattara is locked in a bitter dispute over the Presidency in that war-torn country with incumbent Laurent Bagbo. Ouattara won the election but has not been able to assume the office.
April 19, 2011 -
The six-month continuing resolution Congress passed earlier this month was mostly about cuts, but it also included several hundred million dollars in new spending pushed through by the Maryland and Virginia congressional delegations. That money will pay to help solve some of the huge traffic problems this year\'s military personnel moves are expected to create around the DC area.
April 19, 2011 -
The costs of weapons and communications systems are on the rise.
April 18, 2011