Nextgov

Energy IG Finds Science Offices Skirt Security Rules for Peripheral Devices

Officials tell internal watchdogs securing devices like printers and flash drives is just hard, expensive and inhibits collaboration.

Route Fifty

Dribble, Don't Spit: University Debuts New Saliva-Based Covid Test

The test is free for students, faculty and staff at the University of Illinois, where it was developed. Results are available in 24 hours, but it's unclear whether testing would be mandatory.

Oversight

South Texas Landowners Are Hoping to Use President Trump's Own Words Against Him in a New Border Wall Lawsuit

Landowners are alleging that the construction of the barrier is driven by little more than racism and politics and is therefore unconstitutional, according to a new lawsuit.

Management

Supreme Court Upholds American Indian Treaty Promises, Orders Oklahoma To Follow Federal Law

Land in what is now eastern Oklahoma, which was granted to the Creek Nation by Congress in 1833, is still under tribal sovereignty, the Supreme Court ruled.

Nextgov

COVID-19 Could Change Government Contact Centers Forever

The pandemic has forced major changes in the way federal agencies serve customers.

Defense

Top U.S. General Slams Confederacy As ‘Treason’, Signals Support For Base Renaming

“Those generals fought for the institution of slavery,” Gen. Mark Milley told a House hearing.

Tech

Digital Contact Tracing’s Mixed Record Abroad Spells Trouble for U.S. Efforts to Rein in COVID-19

Effective national leadership and trust in government appear to be prerequisites for countries to achieve widespread digital contact tracing.

Oversight

GovExec Daily: The OPM-GSA Merger and the Threat to the Civil Service

POGO's Nick Schwellenbach joined the podcast to discuss a recent investigation that found that the Trump administration "could not lawfully" go forward with the merger.

Route Fifty

Job Prospects In Cities Dim For Workers Without College Degrees, Study Finds

The research shows an erosion of middle-income jobs for this group of workers between 1980 and 2015, which has been particularly devastating for those who aren’t white.

Route Fifty

It Can Be Difficult to Revoke a Police Officer's License. Some States Are Trying to Make it Easier.

Nearly all states require police officers to be certified, but not every state has a process for revoking that license, even in the face of egregious misconduct.

Oversight

Lawmakers Seek to Ensure Agencies Comply with Watchdog Review of WHO Funding Halt

They cited the Trump administration’s “history of obstruction.”

Nextgov

Walter Reed Scientists Use Artificial Intelligence to Screen Drugs to Potentially Treat COVID-19

The Experimental Therapeutics Branch accelerated its research by turning to machine learning, AI and high-performance computing.

Management

Labor Agency Changes Organizational Chart to Bolster Court Defense

Attorneys for a union challenging how members of the Federal Service Impasses Panel are appointed called recent changes to the Federal Labor Relations Authority website a “cynical” effort to influence the case.

Pay & Benefits

Myths, Misunderstandings and Managing Your Money

A look back at some important columns you might’ve missed from earlier this year.

Nextgov

VA Wants to Automate Digitization of its 5-Mile-High Electronic Health Record Backlog

Veterans Affairs is looking to robotic process automation to help digitize its backlog and integrate with the new electronic health record platform.

Management

Meet the Researcher Leading NIH’s COVID-19 Vaccine Development Efforts

A conversation with Dr. John Mascola, director of the vaccine research center at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.