Agencies spend between $5 billion and $7 billion a year on phone and other telecommunications services. But those basic commodities are ripe for innovation and further cost savings. The General Services Administration is developing the next generation telecommunications contract.

Violence on Indian reservations used to be twice as high as in the rest of the country. Then the Interior Department’s Bureau of Indian Affairs launched a new crime-fighting program built on data analytics. It has cut the crime rate by 35 percent on participating reservations. Charles Addington, associate director of Field Operations at BIA, was behind the effort.

View a gallery of all the 2013 Service to America Medal Finalists here.

Chinese cyber-spies are hacking into U.S. defense networks. An elite and secret group within the National Security Agency is doing the same thing to China and has been for at least 15 years.

Only fans of death-defying roller coasters could be happy with the stock market news of the last couple of days. It you’re close to retirement, or watch your investments frequently, you may be wondering whether it’s time to review your strategy.