OPM Touts New AI Tool that Can Generate Federal Position Descriptions
The Office of Personnel Management unveiled USA Class, an AI‑driven tool that drafts and refines federal position descriptions. Available early May on the existing USA Staffing platform, the service is free for agencies already using the system. By leveraging thousands of historic job descriptions, USA Class promises to cut drafting time roughly in half while ensuring compliance with classification standards. The rollout is a cornerstone of the Federal HR 2.0 agenda to modernize recruitment and reduce the long‑standing bottleneck in federal hiring.
VA Still on Pace with EHR Deployment After Rollouts Earlier This Year, Officials Say
The Department of Veterans Affairs has resumed its rollout of the new Oracle Health electronic health record system, completing the first independent deployments at four Michigan facilities after a year‑long pause. Officials say the Michigan launches went smoothly, prompting an...
Google Suddenly Drops Its Bid To Build America's Drone Swarms
Google withdrew from the Pentagon’s $100 million Autonomous Vehicle Orchestrator contest after an internal ethics review, despite having advanced to the next stage. The pull‑out follows an open letter signed by hundreds of Google AI researchers urging the firm not to...
North Dakota Signs All BEAD Contracts
North Dakota has signed all of its Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) grant agreements, covering 279 eligible locations—277 slated for fiber and two for cable. The state allocated just $6.1 million of its $130 million BEAD funding to two providers, Midco...
New VA OIG CIO Aims for Mission-Centered Approach to Oversight
Lance Jenkinson has been appointed chief information officer of the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General (VA OIG). A veteran federal technologist, he previously led enterprise IT and program‑management initiatives for the War Department and other agencies. Jenkinson...
NIST SP 800-223 and 800-234: A Turning Point for Federal High-Performance Computing Security
The National Institute of Standards and Technology released SP 800‑223 and the draft SP 800‑234, the first federal frameworks dedicated to securing high‑performance computing (HPC) environments. The standards arrive as the Genesis Mission, a $320 million initiative, links the 17 U.S. national laboratories...
From Mandate to Momentum: Turning CISA’s Edge Device Directive Into Lasting Capability
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s Binding Operational Directive 26‑02 compels federal agencies to identify, remediate and continuously manage unsupported edge devices such as routers and firewalls. Agencies have 90 days to inventory these assets, 18 months to replace or mitigate them, and...
911 Translate Offers (Mostly) Free Call Center Access
DeskOfficer, a gov‑tech startup founded in 2025, has launched 911Translate, a free AI‑driven language‑translation service for U.S. emergency call centers. The tool provides real‑time conversational translation in more than 70 languages, offering each of the roughly 6,000 centers 100 free...
Defense Department Launches New Website to Streamline Military Moves
The Defense Department unveiled PPA.mil, a unified portal that streamlines permanent change‑of‑station moves for service members and families, replacing a patchwork of legacy sites. A DHS inspector‑general report flagged that 76% of mobile apps on intelligence‑office phones pose security risks,...
IBM Makes Digital Sovereignty Operational with General Availability of IBM Sovereign Core
IBM announced the general availability of IBM Sovereign Core, a software platform that lets enterprises and governments build AI‑ready sovereign environments and verify control. The solution embeds a customer‑operated control plane, in‑boundary identity and encryption, continuous compliance monitoring, and governed...
Research Hub Bridges Cybersecurity Gap for Under-Resourced Organizations
Federal cybersecurity funding and staffing have slashed, leaving state, city and nonprofit IT teams exposed. The University of California, Berkeley’s Center for Long‑Term Cybersecurity (CLTC) is stepping in, offering free clinics, research surveys and volunteer reserve teams to help low‑resource...
Ontario's $9.8B Transmission Plan Targets Toronto Grid Bottleneck
Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) is drafting a $9.8 billion transmission plan to address a looming grid bottleneck in the Greater Toronto Area. Peak demand could rise from today’s 23‑24 GW to as high as 40 GW by 2050, driven by electrification...
U.S. Will Now Examine National Security Implications of New AI Models, Pre-Release
The U.S. Commerce Department’s Center for AI Standards and Innovation (CAISI) has signed new pre‑release testing agreements with Google DeepMind, Microsoft and Elon Musk’s xAI, adding to existing deals with Anthropic and OpenAI. The agreements require the companies to hand...
ReConnect Rural Broadband Grant Program Appears to Be Saved
The U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture restored $40 million to the USDA’s ReConnect Loan and Grant Program for fiscal year 2027, reversing a proposed 19 percent cut that would have eliminated the initiative. The funding approval came as part of the...
Report: How Public Safety Agencies Can Tap Drones to Protect Major Events
Public safety officials are preparing for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will draw an estimated 5 million visitors to 11 U.S. cities. A Center for Internet Security report warns that unmanned aerial systems (UAS) could be used by malicious actors...
CISA Boasts AI Automation Improvements to Threat Analysis, Mission Support
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) reports its security operations unit has achieved the largest productivity gains from AI‑driven automation, enabling analysts to triage threats faster and focus on high‑value alerts. The technology also streamlines real‑time customer support in...
Agency Leader Says AI Is Helping Resource-Strained Workforce Identify More Fraud
The CMS Center for Program Integrity (CPI) is leveraging artificial intelligence to help its 500‑person workforce sift through 4‑5 million Medicare and Medicaid claims each day, aiming to curb an estimated $100 billion in fraud. With a modest $1 billion budget, AI tools...
California PUC Issues $3.29 Million In Digital Literacy Grants
California’s Public Utilities Commission approved $3.29 million in grants to expand digital‑literacy training and public broadband access across the state. The funding supports 18 new digital‑literacy projects and three expanded broadband‑access initiatives, reaching over 16,000 Californians. Programs will deliver at least...
Frictionless Data Flow Streamlines Medicaid Enrollment
Contexture announced a new platform that streams clinical data directly to state Medicaid agencies. The real‑time exchange removes the need for caseworkers to conduct multiple manual record searches. By automating eligibility verification, the system speeds up enrollment and cuts administrative...
MBTA Completes Work on Green Line B, C, D Branches
The MBTA finished a series of upgrades on the Green Line B, C and D branches during April’s service suspension. Crews installed the Green Line Train Protection System (GLTPS) on the B branch, added new power and messenger cables, and...
Air Force Eyes OTAs, Agile Acquisition for Next-Gen Air Operations Command and Control System
The Air Force is launching a modernization effort for its Next‑Generation Air Operations Center (NG AOC) command‑and‑control system, aiming to embed artificial‑intelligence and cloud capabilities more quickly. It plans to use other‑transaction agreements (OTAs) and an agile acquisition framework, managed...
Medicaid Eligibility Decisions Made Faster with Smoother Data Exchange
Contexture, a health information exchange, is now sharing clinical data directly with Arizona and Colorado Medicaid agencies to determine whether work‑requirement rules apply to beneficiaries. The real‑time exchange streamlines eligibility verification, cutting the time needed for manual record checks. By...
Trump Admin Floats Policy Language Limiting Contractor Say on Agency Uses of Technology
The Trump administration is circulating draft policy language that would cement the government’s authority to determine lawful and appropriate uses of privately sourced AI technologies, potentially through an executive order and a dedicated AI‑model working group. The drafts address licensing...
America Doesn’t Need to Invade Canada. It Has Our Data
Canada is confronting a digital sovereignty crisis as U.S. tech firms can access data stored domestically under laws like the U.S. Cloud Act. Recent moves by France to replace American video‑conferencing tools by 2027 illustrate a broader European push for...
NASCIO 2026 Midyear:Citizen Digital Identity Fragmentation, Funding Hurdles
State CIOs are accelerating digital‑identity modernization, yet fragmented legacy systems, funding shortfalls, and governance gaps are slowing progress, according to a NASCIO Midyear survey. Over half of respondents (57%) say initiatives are driven by CIO policy rather than statutes, and...
Connecticut Passes Law Banning Sale Of Location Data, Regulating Ad Volume
Connecticut lawmakers passed Senate Bill 4, a privacy measure that bans the outright sale of precise geolocation data and imposes new limits on surveillance‑based pricing and ad volume in streaming. The bill also requires data brokers to register with the state...
10 Years After OPM Data Breach, Identity Protection Benefits for Affected Feds Start to Expire
A decade after the 2015 Office of Personnel Management breach that exposed more than 22 million federal employees and applicants, the government‑provided MyIDCare identity‑theft protection program is winding down. Enrollees receive rolling emails stating that credit monitoring, dark‑web scanning and insurance...
White House Wants to Vet Powerful AI Models for Risks − a Computer Scientist Explains Why AI Safety Is so...
The White House is drafting a federal review process to assess the safety of powerful artificial‑intelligence models before they are released, a notable shift from its traditionally anti‑regulatory posture. The move follows Anthropic’s decision to restrict access to its Mythos...
Grand Jury: Monterey County, Calif., Needs Better Emergency Radios
A civil grand jury report reveals that 42% of Monterey County lacks digital radio coverage and another 18% is without any reliable signal, exposing residents and responders to communication failures during emergencies. The county’s rugged terrain and a patchwork of...
Commerce Aiming to Open Novel Space Applications This Summer
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Office of Space Commerce (OSC) unveiled a one‑stop licensing framework that lets companies submit a single application for novel space missions—ranging from asteroid mining to in‑space refueling—to be shared with the FAA, FCC and other...
Armory Gets ₹100 Cr Defence Ministry Order For Counter Drone Systems
Armory, a defence‑tech startup founded in 2024, landed a ₹100 Cr ($10.5 M) order from India’s defence ministry to supply its AI‑powered counter‑UAS platform, SURGE. The system leverages the proprietary Samaritan OS to scan environments millions of times per second, learn new...
CISA Pushes Critical Infrastructure Operators to Prepare to Work in Isolation
U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) unveiled CI Fortify, a national program urging critical infrastructure operators to plan for and operate in isolation from the internet and third‑party services during severe cyber incidents. The initiative emphasizes controlled disconnection, rapid...
‘Supplemental’ Municipal Utility Begins Solar-and-Storage Installs in Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor launched the Ann Arbor Sustainable Energy Utility (A2SEU), a supplemental municipal utility that began installing solar‑plus‑storage systems for about 150 homes in the Bryant neighborhood, with plans to reach 1,000 homes by 2027. The pilot, supplied by FranklinWH...
Woolpert and Chance Maritime in Uncrewed Hydrographic Survey First
Woolpert and Chance Maritime have launched NOAA's first fully uncrewed offshore hydrographic survey off Pensacola, Florida, using the 40‑foot MC40 and 29‑foot MC29 unmanned surface vessels equipped with Woolpert’s multibeam sonar. The mission will capture 1,391 square nautical miles of...
State Audit Slams NYC Schools for Lack of Student Data Privacy Oversight
The New York City Department of Education failed a state audit that revealed extensive gaps in student data privacy oversight. Auditors found the district lacks a comprehensive inventory of third‑party software, has experienced 141 security incidents—including breaches affecting 820,000 students—and...
SSE Vs. SASE: Federal Agencies’ Guide to Cloud Security Architecture
Federal agencies advancing zero‑trust and hybrid work are shifting from perimeter security to cloud‑delivered models. Two frameworks—Security Service Edge (SSE) and Secure Access Service Edge (SASE)—offer distinct paths: SSE provides security‑only services such as SWG, CASB and ZTNA, while SASE...
Bipartisan Senate Bill Takes Aim at AI Voice Cloning and Deepfake Fraud Targeting Mobile Users
The bipartisan AI Fraud Accountability Act (S.3982), introduced by Senators Lisa Blunt Rochester and Tim Sheehy, would make it a federal crime to use AI‑generated voice clones, synthetic video, or other deepfakes for financial fraud and identity theft on mobile...
Project ARIA Pushes AI From Concept to Soldier-Ready Capability
The U.S. Army’s Project ARIA, launched in March, is moving artificial intelligence from experimental labs to soldier‑ready tools. By partnering with industry and academia, the initiative targets high‑value use cases such as logistics, policy compliance, and daily workflows to cut administrative...
OpenGov Expands AI-Native Platform to Unify ERP, HCM, and Public Sector Operations
OpenGov announced a major upgrade to its Public Service Platform, merging its ERP system with human capital management (HCM) on a single data foundation. The AI‑native suite now includes OG Assist, an embedded assistant that guides users through tasks, data...
New Bill Would Narrow Scope of Colorado’s Landmark 2024 AI Law
Colorado Democrats introduced Senate Bill 26-189 to sharply narrow the state’s 2024 AI law, SB 24-205, by replacing the broad “high‑risk artificial intelligence systems” definition with a limited “automated decision‑making technology” (ADMT) framework. The proposal eliminates proactive risk assessments and...
Leaked Data Deal Fuels Concerns as Europeans Risk US Entry Bans for Critics of Trump
A leaked draft of a U.S.-EU biometric data‑sharing agreement reveals that Washington could deny entry or arrest EU citizens who criticize President Donald Trump. The proposal, pushed by the European Commission after U.S. threats to revoke visa‑free travel, would grant...
Robin Radar Accelerates Delivery of IRIS Drone Detection Radars to the Gulf Region
Robin Radar Systems has rapidly delivered its IRIS 3D drone‑detection radars to Gulf states, meeting urgent security needs. The compact, mobile units provide 360° coverage and can detect small drones up to 12 km, integrating seamlessly with existing counter‑UAS architectures. The...
Call for Counter-Drone Tech to Protect Infrastructure Receives High Volume of Proposals
UK Defence Innovation (UKDI) has opened a competition for counter‑UAS solutions to protect critical national infrastructure, receiving a high volume of proposals that delayed its assessment timeline. The feedback release has been pushed to 24 June 2026, with contracts expected to...
Google, Microsoft, and xAI Agree to Let US Government Test AI Models Before Public Release — OpenAI and Anthropic Also...
Google, Microsoft and Elon Musk’s xAI have agreed to give the U.S. Commerce Department’s Center for AI Standards and Innovation (CAISI) early access to their frontier AI models before they are released publicly. OpenAI and Anthropic, already partnered with CAISI,...
CISA Urges Critical Infrastructure Firms to ‘Fortify’ Before It’s Too Late
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) released new guidance under its international “CI Fortify” initiative to help critical infrastructure operators isolate and recover from cyber intrusions. The advice, modeled on Australian 2025 guidance, stresses preparing for unreliable third‑party connections...
Montgomery County Completes Transit Depot Microgrid Project
Montgomery County, Maryland, completed a 6.8‑MW transit‑depot microgrid at the David F. Bone Equipment Maintenance and Transit Operation Center. The system includes 9,800 solar panels, 2 MW/6.9 MWh of battery storage and 2.38 MW of charging capacity to serve 200 Ride On buses and...
Unlocking Mexico’s Digital Potential
Mexico’s digital transformation is accelerating, yet key barriers remain. A recent reform dissolved the independent telecom regulator (IFT) and transferred authority to a less autonomous commission, raising concerns about oversight. High spectrum fees—among the OECD’s highest—discourage network investment, while digital‑government...
Australian Digital Health Agency Notes Progress in Delivery of National Healthcare Interoperability Plan
The Australian Digital Health Agency announced that 75% of the 44 actions in its National Healthcare Interoperability Plan have been completed as of the January‑March 2026 quarter. Two domains—innovation and benefits—are fully finished, while standards are 93% complete, leaving only...
You're in the Army Now! Why Trump 2.0 Is Drafting More Enterprise Tech Vendors Into Its "AI-First War Department"
The U.S. Department of War has finalized agreements with eight leading AI vendors—including SpaceX, Google, NVIDIA, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle and AWS—to run frontier AI models on its Impact Level 6 and 7 classified networks. The contracts follow the administration’s decision to blacklist...
Government to Create Task Force to Examine Labelling for AI-Generated Content
The UK government will establish a dedicated task force to examine whether AI‑generated content should be formally labelled. The move follows the EU AI Act’s 2024 transparency requirement and emerging US state laws, though Britain currently lacks such legislation. Ministers...