The Federal Headlines is a daily compilation of the stories you hear discussed on  Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

• Federal employees are cleared to use ride sharing services. Congress has been urging greater federal use of ride-sharing outfits like Uber and Lyft because they can save money. Now the General Services Administration is telling agencies they can reimburse employees who use them. GSA calls them transportation network companies. In a bulletin, GSA koshers ride-sharing only for employees on business trips. But it leaves to individual agencies whether to cover ride-sharing for local, duty station travel. (General Services Administration) For further analysis, check out Tom Temin’s column on the subject.

• The General Services Administration is also reviewing retroactive transit benefits, and depending on its decision, employees could be getting some money back. GSA says it will make a decision soon, according to a letter addressed to Virginia Congressman Don Beyer. Beyer wrote to the agency asking for the status of transit back pay for employees. His request was made on behalf of a GSA employee who could receive more than one-thousand dollars in transit pay. (Federal News Radio)

• The Defense Department’s components are now working on implementation plans to make phased retirement a reality since announcing it last month. The department agencies will create individual phased retirement plans and mentoring guidelines based on their needs. DoD does not have a timeline as to when the plans will be finished. Retirees who sign up will work part time while mentoring employees that will take over similar responsibilities to theirs.

• The Office of Personnel Management has updated its handbook on the Federal Employees’ Group Life Insurance Program or “FEGLI.” Eligible employees can choose to enroll in one of the three coverage options. OPM will hold a FEGLI open season in September for the first time since 2004. It runs from September 1st to the 30th. Most federal employees are already covered with basic life insurance. (Office of Personnel Management)

• An official in charge of investigating whistleblower complaints within the intelligence community files one of his own. McClatchyDC reports Daniel Meyer made a complaint to the Merit Systems Protection Board saying he was passed over for promotions while working at the Pentagon’s Office of Inspector General for telling Congress that then Defense Secretary Leon Panetta had leaked classified information to the makers of the film “Zero Dark Thirty.” (McClatchyDC)

• In a few cases, DHS has already created joint task forces, modeled after the military’s combatant commands, adding a unified command structure to the Border Patrol, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Coast Guard, and Customs Agents working in a given area. But Secretary Jeh Johnson says an expansion of that effort has been hampered under current law, which limits his ability to detail enough employees from DHS component to another. He says changing that is one of two most important legislative priorities in his last few months in office.

• Some personnel updates, FBI Director James Comey announces John Adams, special agent in charge of the Norfok division has been appointed as assistant director of the directorate of intelligence. Also Air Force General Stephen Wilson becomes the branch’s 39th vice chief of staff. (FBI) (Air Force)

• A long-awaited cyber policy update is finally out. The Office of Management and Budget is bringing together 16 years of technology and information policy changes in one place. OMB issued the update to Circular A-130 today. One of the biggest changes is the requirement to move toward the continuous monitoring of IT systems and away from the static three-year cyber reviews. OMB also is more closely integrating privacy and security and emphasizing agencies take a risk management approach in the refreshed circular. OMB last updated A-130 in 2000. (The White House)

• The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says it’s taken another step toward building the world’s best global weather model. In a release, NOAA says it has selected a new dynamic core, which is the engine of a numerical weather prediction model. It will now begin to build the new forecast model to replace the current U.S. Global Forecast System. (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)

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