Thursday federal headlines – April 9, 2015

The Federal Headlines is a daily compilation of the stories you hear discussed on Federal News Radio each day. It is designed to give FederalNewsRadio.com reade...

The Federal Headlines is a daily compilation of the stories you hear discussed on the Federal Drive and In Depth radio shows each day. Our headlines are updated twice per day — once in the morning and once in the afternoon — with the latest news affecting federal employees and contractors.

  • It’s now official — federal contractors can’t discriminate against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees. President Obama’s executive order went into effect yesterday. It says a company that wins a contract from an agency can’t discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. It applies to contractors and subcontractors that do more than $10,000 in business with the government in a year. The order expands on one from former President Lyndon B Johnson in 1965. That bans discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin. (White House)
  • The Secret Service places a high-ranking supervisor on administrative leave after allegations of misconduct and criminal activity. The agency also suspends the employee’s security clearance. The Homeland Security inspector general is investigating those allegations. It’s also still looking into an incident from last month, where two Secret Service officers allegedly drove a car into a barrier at the White House. (Federal News Radio)
  • NASA scientists are confident they’ll find alien life in the next few decades. Chief scientist Ellen Stofan said the life will most likely be tiny microbes, not little green men. Researchers have found evidence of water in the solar system, which often goes along with extra-terrestrial life. They’ve discovered underground oceans on the moons of Saturn and Jupiter, crater pools on Mercury and signs of an ocean on Mars. NASA’s Kepler Telescope has found planets outside the solar system with geography and climate similar to Earth. (NextGov/NPR)
  • The Army will have to pay damages to a transgender worker whom it forced to use the men’s bathroom, even though she identifies now as a woman. The Washington Post reports the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sided with the employee, Tamara Lusardi. It said the Army violated a sexual discrimination law and ordered the branch to settle with Lusardi on the exact payment. The commission’s decision follows a similar conclusion reached by the Office of Special Counsel six months ago. The OSC ordered the Army to conduct sensitivity training. (Washington Post)
  • The eldest Obama daughter, Malia, has turned 16. She’s going through the teenage ritual of learning to drive. Her teacher: the Secret Service. How many other teenagers can say that? First Lady Michelle Obama told daytime talk-show host Rachael Ray all about it in an interview scheduled to air later today. The First Lady said she hasn’t driven in seven or eight years. The Secret Service agents who protect her family wouldn’t let her get in the car with her daughter. She says she wants her daughters to live normal lives and she hopes they “come out of this thing as functioning adults,” meaning their time in the White House. ( AP)
  • Expect long waits for care at VA hospitals — even now. Government data shows no improvement over a year ago, when news of long wait times at VA centers became a scandal and forced then-Secretary Eric Shinseki to resign. The number of vets waiting more than 30 or 60 days for non-emergency care has stayed nearly flat. Worse, the number of medical appointments that take longer than 90 days to complete has nearly doubled. This doesn’t take into account cancellations, or times when veterans gave up and sought care elsewhere. An Associated Press analysis found wide disparities across the country. The problem is worse in Southern states with strong military presences, largely rural populations and faster-than-expected patient growth. It’s much better in the Northeast, Midwest and along the Pacific Coast. (AP)
  • The Senate is creating an encyclopedia of U.S. spy programs to get a better handle on the sprawling intelligence system. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) launched the review shortly after Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor, began leaking secret information in 2013. At the time, Feinstein chaired the Senate Intelligence Committee, but even now, under Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) the committee has continued its work. Feinstein says the government has so many scattered spy programs that many intelligence workers don’t know what’s going on and the executive branch has trouble tracking them. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper has joked that only God sees over all the U.S. secret intelligence programs. (AP)
  • One American soldier is dead and several others wounded after an Afghan soldier opened fired on them yesterday. It’s the first insider attack to target NATO troops since they ended their combat mission earlier this year. The shooting happened in the eastern city of Jalalabad. American diplomats had just wrapped up a visit with Afghan provincial leaders. The diplomatic mission said all embassy staff are safe. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. When asked about the shooting, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said it “underscores that Afghanistan continues to be a dangerous place.” (CNN )

Copyright © 2024 Federal News Network. All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.