Justice Department, DEA to try new tactics in fight against opioids

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• The Justice Department said it’s using data to combat the nation’s opioid epidemic. The new effort by the Opioid Fraud and Abuse Detection Unit uses information from federal and private sector databases to try to detect which doctors are prescribing the most, how far patients are traveling to see them, and whether any patients have died in the last two months. Prosecutors said the analysis lets them quickly zero in on the nation’s most prolific “pill mills.” (Federal News Radio)

• The Justice Department’s main drug fighting wing said it plans to classify all substances related to the synthetic opioid fentanyl as Schedule 1 drugs. The Drug Enforcement Agency said the change in approach is to fight against drugmakers slightly altering the chemical structure of the drug to skirt enforcement efforts. This is why the DEA has already issued six other orders to control nine fentanyl-related substances. (Federal Register)

• The General Services Administration said the agency will be issuing a multi-award contract to help identify users of the website Login.gov. The website offers citizens a secure way for them to participate in government programs. GSA said it needs a variety of proofing methods and data sources to give coverage to the entire U.S. population. (FedBizOpps)

• Federal workers with older iPhones will save their agencies money by simply getting a new battery. As part of its mea culpa for spoiling the performance of older iPhones, Apple said it will drop the price of battery replacement from $79 to $29, and add battery health software in a future update. In a rarity for the company, Apple apologized for the way it failed to communicate a deliberate performance slowdown of phones with old batteries. (Apple)

• An audit from the Defense Department’s Inspector General (DoD IG) has called-out major contractors from the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program. The DoD IG said the companies SpaceX, Aerojet Rocketdyne, and United Launch Alliance were cited for 181 non-conformities, resulting in program delays and increased costs. The office recommended the EELV program’s director conduct an analysis and introduce ways to fix the problems identified. (Department of Defense Office of Inspector General)

• The Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) has called upon Congress and President Trump  to provide a more stable budget.  AIA calls upon Congress to pass a solution to finalize discretionary spending in Fiscal 2018. The trade organization said using a third consecutive continuing resolution creates an inefficient path of operating with budget uncertainty. (Aerospace Industries Association)
• NASA has selected a contractor to head its plans to explore Saturn’s largest moon.  NASA chose Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory’s proposal to explore the moon Titan using a dual quadcopter called Dragonfly. The vehicle will investigate Titan’s organic chemistry and habitability. (John Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory)
• The Trump Administration has backed down down from its attempt to keep transgender Americans from enlisting in the military, for now. The Justice Department said late last week that it would not pursue any further appeals for the time being after losing cases before two federal appeals courts. But the administration is not dropping the issue completely. It said the Pentagon will be releasing an independent study regarding transgender service in the coming weeks. But for now, the decision has cleared the way for transgender enlistments to begin in the new year. (Federal News Radio)

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