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Federal, Policy

Congress approves short-term extension to avoid shutdown, buy more time for final spending agreement

February 29, 2024

Via: Washington's Top News

Congress passed another short-term spending measure Thursday that would keep one set of federal agencies operating through March 8 and another set through March 22, avoiding a shutdown for parts of the federal government that would otherwise kick in Saturday. […]


Policy, State & Local

California governor pushes back against criticism of fast food minimum wage law

February 29, 2024

Via: Washington's Top News

California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration has denied a news report that he pushed for an exception to the state’s new fast-food minimum wage law that benefits a wealthy campaign donor. California’s minimum wage is $16 per hour. But starting April […]


Hardware & Software, Tech

Apple sues US patent office over AR software trademarks

February 27, 2024

Via: BGR

Apple is suing the US Patent Trademark Office after the organization refused to grant trademarks covering Cupertino’s AR software development tools Reality Composer and Reality Converter. According to Reuters, Apple asked the Virginia federal court to revert USPTO’s decision as […]


Federal, Policy

New poll reveals record-high number of Americans view this issue as ‘critical threat’ to US interests

February 27, 2024

Via: Fox News

A record-high number of Americans see large numbers of illegal immigrants coming into the U.S. as a “critical threat” to U.S. interests, according to a new poll published Tuesday. The Gallup poll found that 55% of U.S. adults say that […]


Energy & Environment, Industry

New federal policy gives Native American tribes power to veto green energy development

February 26, 2024

Via: Fox News

Federal regulators quietly implemented a new policy enabling Native American tribes to effectively veto certain green energy development projects on their land. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued an order rejecting three large hydroelectric pump storage projects — which […]


Industry, Transportation & Infrastructure

Florida passes bill to ban left lane driving with few exceptions

February 23, 2024

Via: Fox News

The state of Florida is set to crack down on life in the fast lane. The Florida legislature has passed a bill that would ban motorists from cruising in the left lane of highways, sending it to Gov. Ron DeSantis […]


Networking & Wireless, Tech

ISPs keep giving false broadband coverage data to the FCC, groups say

February 23, 2024

Via: ArsTechnica

Internet service providers are still providing false coverage information to the Federal Communications Commission, and the FCC process for challenging errors isn’t good enough to handle all the false claims, the agency was told by several groups this week. The […]


IT Policy, Tech

Biden to sign executive order boosting cybersecurity of ports, maritime vessels

February 21, 2024

Via: Government Executive

President Joe Biden is expected to sign an executive order on Wednesday that would give the Homeland Security Department more authority to address maritime cybersecurity threats. The order, previewed by officials in a call with reporters, would give the U.S. […]


Federal, Policy

Supreme Court rejects appeal from Trump-allied lawyers over 2020 election lawsuit in Michigan

February 20, 2024

Via: Washington's Top News

The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected an appeal from Sidney Powell and other lawyers allied with former President Donald Trump over $150,000 in sanctions they were ordered to pay for abusing the court system with a sham lawsuit challenging the […]


Federal, Policy

Biden wants people to know most of the money he’s seeking for Ukraine would be spent in the US

February 20, 2024

Via: Washington's Top News

At a bustling construction site outside of Dallas, there are hopes that Congress can finally pass nearly $95 billion in foreign aid including funding for Ukraine — because factory jobs in the United States depend on that money. Aerospace and […]


Editorial

2024 Government Trends: Adopting Skills-Based Hiring and Fluid Workforce Models

February 20, 2024

Via: Mary Gamet

The post-pandemic workforce looks much different than before 2020. Every aspect of our work lives has become more fluid, from the hiring process to work hours to job requirements. And while private enterprises have quickly adapted to these new flexible […]


Industry, Transportation & Infrastructure

White House is distributing $5.8 billion from the infrastructure law for water projects

February 20, 2024

Via: Washington's Top News

The Biden administration announced Tuesday that it is distributing another $5.8 billion for water infrastructure projects around the country, paid for by one of its key legislative victories. The new allocations will go to projects in all 50 states, bringing […]


Cybersecurity

Russian hackers target vulnerable webmail servers in Europe for espionage

February 19, 2024

Via: CSO Online

A Russian advanced persistent threat (APT) actor has been using the cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities in Roundcube webmail servers to target critical government infrastructures in Europe, according to a research by Recorded Future. The threat group, known as Winter Vivern, […]


Health Care, Industry

New FDA-approved drug makes severe food allergies less life-threatening

February 17, 2024

Via: ArsTechnica

Living with food allergies can be a fraught existence. There is no cure, and the standard management is to be ever vigilant of everything you eat and have an emergency shot of epinephrine constantly handy in case an accidental ingestion […]


Federal, Policy

Bipartisan lawmakers unveil $66B military aid and border alternative

February 16, 2024

Via: POLITICO

A bipartisan group of eight House lawmakers on Friday unveiled a $66.3 billion proposal to fund military aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan in a bid to break the House logjam on the issue before Kyiv’s war effort sputters. The […]


Emerging Tech & Modernization, IT Policy, Tech

FTC finalizes rule protecting governments, businesses from AI impersonation scams

February 16, 2024

Via: StateScoop

The Federal Trade Commission is taking action against the use of artificial intelligence in impersonation fraud schemes, and has finalized a rule against impersonating a government or business. The commission finalized the rule on Thursday, and it provides the FTC […]


Emerging Tech & Modernization, Tech

AI cannot be listed as inventor, says US patent office in latest guidance

February 15, 2024

Via: TechSpot

The USPTO’s new guidance on the use of artificial intelligence states that while AI-assisted inventions are not “categorically unpatentable, the inventorship analysis should focus on human contributions, as patents function to incentivize and reward human ingenuity.” Under the new guidance, […]


Defense, Industry

Russian efforts to create anti-satellite weapons are cause for US concern

February 15, 2024

Via: Washington's Top News

The U.S. has gathered highly sensitive intelligence about Russian anti-satellite weapons that has been shared in recent weeks with the upper echelons of government, according to four people who have been briefed on the intelligence. The people, who were not […]


Federal, Policy

White House blasted after posting Valentine’s Day meme attacking House Speaker Mike Johnson over border deal

February 14, 2024

Via: Fox News

The White House was blasted online over a Valentine’s Day meme making fun of House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., over the doomed border deal. The White House posted on X an image of Johnson with a red background and broken […]


Defense, Industry

Young Republicans slam Senate bill that ignores US migrant crisis, funds Ukraine

February 13, 2024

Via: Fox News

Younger Senate Republicans ripped GOP leadership after the Senate passed a $95 billion foreign aid bill without addressing the migrant crisis at the southern border. Early Tuesday morning, the Senate voted 70 to 29 in favor of President Biden’s requested […]