Nextgov
AFWERX Looks to Buy Thousands of COVID-19-Spotting Wearable Devices
The innovation unit is interested in accessing them in as quick as 60 days.
Nextgov
Biden Review Teams Include Many Former Tech Officials and Digital Service Members
The transition also includes a U.S. Digital Service-specific review team.
Nextgov
Biden’s Top Priorities Offer Few Clues for Technology Policies
Washington policy experts believe President-elect Joe Biden’s approach to big tech companies and regulation may differ from both the Trump and Obama administrations.
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Georgia to Hand Recount All 4.9 Million Votes in Presidential Race
The state’s Republican secretary of state says the recount is not being driven by requests from the Trump campaign, but rather the narrow outcome in the contest. The current count shows Democrat President-elect Joe Biden leading.
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In One Kentucky Community, Dogs Rule—Literally
Wilbur, a 6-month-old French bulldog, is the latest canine mayor of Rabbit Hash, an unincorporated community in Kentucky that's been led by dogs since the late 1990s.
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North Dakota Will Allow Covid-Positive Hospital Staff to Keep Working
STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | Money runs out on Honolulu rail project … El Paso County plans to set up 10 mobile morgues as Covid deaths rise … Most Supreme Court justices seemed skeptical of ACA challenge.
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State and Local Leaders Tapped to Assist With Biden Transition
The president-elect’s “agency review teams,” including one focused on transportation, will in some cases be led by state and local government officials.
Nextgov
Top Tech Companies Begin Pushing Priorities for Biden Administration
Microsoft, IBM and other companies urged the president-elect to consider policies for boosting workforce development, solving the pandemic and addressing biometrics in surveillance.
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Governments Offered Hazard Pay to Frontline Workers. Can They Keep It Up?
With the virus surging across the country, it is unclear whether governments will again offer lump sum payments or keep paying out augmented salaries.
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San Francisco Voters Approve ‘Overpaid Executive Tax’
The surcharge will apply to businesses where top executives earn more than 100 times the median pay level for a company’s employees in the city.
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One Republican Governor Reversed Course on a Mask Mandate. Others Are Still Resisting.
Utah Gov. Gary Herbert declared an indefinite statewide mask mandate on Sunday as coronavirus cases continue to spike around the country, but other governors—including those in states hit hardest by the virus—haven't budged.
Nextgov
Analysts See ‘First Glimmers of Sustained Growth’ in Under-30 Federal IT Workforce
After a decade of declining ratios of younger-to-older federal technology employees, analysts see the start of a turnaround.
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Invasive Weed Found in Michigan Grows Six Inches a Day
The mile-a-minute weed, discovered at a nature center in Albion, can persist in the soil for up to six years.
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Pelosi Touts Possible Bipartisan Cooperation on Infrastructure After Election
The House speaker also said she has no plans to stop pressing for a big coronavirus relief deal. Meanwhile, at least one top Senate Republican also indicated it’s possible Democrat and GOP lawmakers could come together on a public works plan.
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Puerto Ricans Voted in Favor of Statehood. What Happens Now?
The territory’s only likely path toward statehood would come through Democratic control of the House, Senate, and White House.
Nextgov
OMB Confirms Appointment of Controversial New Federal CISO
Camilo Sandoval, a former acting CIO for the Veterans Affairs Department, was the director of the Trump campaign’s data operations in 2016.
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Mayors Reelected in Two Cities that Saw Extensive Protests
The mayors of Portland, Oregon and Richmond, Virginia will both move on to another term. Meanwhile, new mayors will take office in Baltimore, Honolulu and Miami-Dade.
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Mississippi Abolishes Jim Crow-Era State Voting System
The relic from the state’s 1890 constitution, one of several provisions designed to dilute the power of Black voters, was abolished through a ballot initiative that won by a blowout margin.
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For Decades, Denver Outlawed Pit Bulls. Voters Just Overturned the Ban.
The city passed a pit-bull ban in 1989 after multiple people reported being attacked by the breed, although research has shown that such policies have little effect on public safety.
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