Route Fifty

Candidate Pitches Plan for Chicago to Annex Its Suburbs

STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | Texas now has a measles outbreak … San José mayor interested in Musk tunnel … and a N.C. city suspends drug testing.

Route Fifty

Trump Short on Infrastructure Details in State of the Union

The president said it's time to deal with ‘crumbling infrastructure,’ but delivered no concrete ideas on how to invest.

Management

Trump Calls for Unity but Highlights Divisions That Sparked Shutdown

In his state of the union address, the president praised the work of some federal employees, criticized others for misbehavior.

Route Fifty

Teachers Union Raises Red Flags Over Pension Investments in Private Prisons

The American Federation of Teachers characterizes the corrections sector as problematic territory for retirement funds.

Nextgov

27 Groups Call on Congress to Deny ‘Smart Wall’ Funding

Groups are speaking out against a congressional proposal to up spending on surveillance tech on the border.

Management

Study: Federal Workforce Is on the Verge of Catastrophe

Without a significant overhaul, agencies may fail to provide adequate services when they are needed most, researchers found.

Nextgov

VA’s Health Record Overhaul Could Get Even More Expensive, Officials Say

The agency’s acting deputy secretary called the project’s $16 billion price-tag “an educated guess.”

Oversight

Republican Lawmakers Challenge GSA Watchdog's Trump Hotel Probe

Document demand says IG offered “no evidence” of political interference with agency.

Pay & Benefits

Federal Agencies Can Fire Employees for Accidentally Using Marijuana, Federal Court Rules

Court sets new precedent in saying employee was rightfully fired, even if he didn't realize he was eating a pot brownie.

Management

Agencies Ramp Up Classified Plans to Protect 2020 Elections

Homeland Security and Justice deliver review of meddling during 2018.

Management

The GS System Fails in Today’s Labor Markets

Companies understand that you get what you pay for.

Tech

The Teams Who Test U.S. Cyber Defenses Aren’t Being Tough Enough: Pentagon Report

Overworked trainers and penetration testers can’t properly simulate the worst real-world threats, leaving operators “overconfident.”

Oversight

Play of the Day: Who Will Be The Designated Survivor Tuesday Night?

It can't be Wilbur Ross or Matt Whitaker.

Route Fifty

Camp Fire’s Dispersed Survivors Plot Their New Homes on a Map

STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | Political turmoil continues in Virginia … Hawaii’s mainland prison inmates … and email scammers using Fla. mayor’s name.

Route Fifty

Where Millennials and Seniors Have Moved Since the Recession

Young adults are heading to knowledge-based metros, while Arizona and Florida remain retirement hubs, the Brookings Institution found in a new analysis.

Management

USDA Economists Seek to Unionize Amid Relocation Effort

Employees at the Economic Research Service describe the plan to move the agency outside of D.C. and under the Office of the Chief Economist as an "existential threat."

Defense

Senators Seek Pentagon Reassurance on Department’s Financial Audit

The bipartisan group is worried that the expanded duties of Defense CFO David Norquist could delay reports to Congress.

Management

Dozens of Shutdown-Impacted Workers Will Accompany Lawmakers to State of the Union

Members bring guests to highlight those who went without pay for 35 days.

Nextgov

The Navy Needs 2 Tons of Storage Devices Burned to Ash

Researchers at the Naval Surface Warfare Center have a lot of classified information stored on digital devices and issued a solicitation to literally watch it all burn.

Route Fifty

Survey Technique Shows Way to Better Understand Scope of Local Opioid Abuse

In one West Virginia county, 1,857 people are estimated to have injected drugs in the last six months.