Tech
A Short History of Presidential Vacillation: Mars or the Moon
President Trump now says he wants NASA to focus on Mars instead of a second moon landing.
Oversight
Play of the Day: The President Went to the British Isles And Got a Gift Hat
Piers Morgan gave Donald Trump a Churchillian chapeau.
Defense
For Soldiers, Risk of Suicide Linked With Firearm Ownership
Clinicians advise that soldiers at risk for suicide spend less time close to guns.
Workforce
Pentagon Orders Delay in IT Employee Transfers Following Union Protest
The Defense Department no longer plans to move staff from support agencies to the Defense Information Services Agency before the end of September, officials said.
Route Fifty
How One City Gets Residents to Actually Participate in the Budget Process
Fort Collins, Colorado uses a "budgeting for outcomes" system that officials say prioritizes initiatives that are likely to help the city achieve its overall goals.
Pay & Benefits
Disputes Over Pay, Layoffs Create Impasse Between USPS and 200K Employees
Union and agency will head to interest arbitration.
Defense
ICE Doesn't Know How Many Non-Citizen Military Veterans It Has Deported
Poor data on those living here or overseas means many are denied benefits, GAO found.
Nextgov
GSA Is Putting Up $20K For Its First Multicity Hackathon
Over six hours, teams from across the country will work on improving the design, functionality and processes of four critical applications.
Nextgov
Lawmakers Want Government to Help Workers Prepare for Automation
Senators introduced a bipartisan bill that would require the Labor Department to analyze the impacts of automation and prepare workers for a tech-driven job market.
Nextgov
Audit Raises Concerns for Pentagon’s Joint Regional Security Stacks
A Defense Department inspector general audit says JRSS isn’t working like it is supposed to.
Management
Does Hitting The Snooze Button Really Help You Feel Better?
You are tired. Would nine more minutes really hurt? Is hitting the snooze button a good idea? Should you just get out of bed? Or is snoozing a sign of a more serious medical issue?
Management
Viewpoint: Bill Barr’s Dangerous Claims
The attorney general has said the intelligence community was “spying” on the Trump campaign—language that risks a panoply of harms.
Defense
FBI and Homeland Security Hit for Softpedaling White Supremacy Threat
Democrats press for details on budget and staff cuts during debate over hate crimes.
Route Fifty
A Proposal to Link States’ Control Over Federal Block Grants to Their Ethics and Transparency Laws
The idea, which faces long odds on Capitol Hill, is being pushed by a Michigan congressman.
Defense
Normandy Sand Holds Relics Of D-Day
Sand from a 1988 visit to Omaha Beach—site of the ferocious D-Day invasion—reveals that traces of the battle remain there long after June 6, 1944.
Oversight
Surprise Inspections Reveal Widespread Violations at Immigrant Detention Facilities
Poor conditions add to the expanding list of crises caused by the influx of migrants at the souther border.
Nextgov
Nuclear Energy Regulators Need to Bring on More Cyber Experts, Watchdog Says
Cyberattacks on nuclear power stations on the rise, and an aging workforce may soon leave the government struggling to defend plants against the latest threats.
Workforce
FLRA Chair Justifies High Overturn Rate By Saying Arbitrators Are ‘Exceeding Authority’
A study by an arbitrator found that Colleen Duffy Kiko’s FLRA has set overturned awards roughly three times as often as the FLRA during the Obama and George W. Bush administrations.
Pay & Benefits
Buy This and Hope You Don’t Get Your Money’s Worth
The ins and outs of life insurance.
Route Fifty