Jury finds Oregon wildlife refuge occupiers not guilty

In today's Top Federal Headlines, a jury in Portland, Oregon finds the group behind the armed take over of a wildlife refuge not guilty of conspiring to impede...

The Federal Headlines is a daily compilation of the stories you hear discussed on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

In today’s Top Federal Headlines, a jury in Portland, Oregon finds the group behind the armed takeover of a wildlife refuge not guilty of conspiring to impede federal workers from their jobs.

  • A jury in Portland, Oregon found all seven defendants not guilty of charges stemming from the armed occupation of a national wildlife refuge in the state earlier this year. The defendants were facing charges of conspiring to impede federal workers from their jobs at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. The leader of the group Ammon Bundy was among them, though he was not released as he is facing charges in Nevada from the 2014 standoff with the Bureau of Land Management at his father’s ranch. (Associated Press)
  • The White House has released plans to help modernize agencies outdated IT systems. Federal Chief Information Officer Tony Scott laid out a four-part proposed guidance to help agencies get a start on modernization. They include setting IT spending goals, identifying systems in need of an upgrade, profiling highlighted systems, and execution during the funding process. (Federal News Radio)
  • How much will IT spending change with a new administration? Not much. That’s according to Deltek analysis. In the first year, the new crew may not be able to do much about 2017-2018 IT spending. Deltek researchers said both Trump and Clinton promise to spend more on DoD and Veterans Affairs. They added that Better Buying Power and data center optimization will likely continue. Trump might cut health care and climate spending, while Clinton would boost them. (Deltek)
  • The Information Technology and Innovation Fund has criticized the Federal Communications Commission’s newest ruling to consider browsing and app history as sensitive data. ITIF said the ruling will make it harder for businesses to thrive and innovate. It also claimed FCC hasn’t been seeking informed comment on establishing a secure customer baseline. (The Information Technology and Innovation Fund)
  • Phone scammers beware, the IRS is on the lookout. The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration credited an interagency investigation for the recent arrest of 61 people involved in various phone scams. Nearly 10,000 victims have reported paying fraudulent impersonators since 2013. (Federal News Radio)
  • The Army has crossed a major milestone toward introducing women into combat positions. On paper, each of the military services opened ground combat roles to women earlier this year. But this week, the Army completed its first gender-integrated training course for infantry officers. Ten female soldiers were among the class of 166. The Army expects the first group of women to graduate its armor officer course in December. They’ll be followed by about 120 enlisted soldiers the Army expects to become the first females to enter infantry and armor training in February or March.
  • Agencies beat their five-year goal to hire 100,000 employees with disabilities. The Office of Personnel Management said agencies hired more than 26,000 people with disabilities in 2015 and roughly 20,000 new hires the year before. OPM said agencies are hiring more people with disabilities now than at any other time within the past 35 years. (Federal News Radio)
  • A federal employees union is defending its cyber breach lawsuit. The National Treasury Employees Union wants a judge to throw out the Office of Personnel Management’s motion to dismiss the suit. NTEU is suing the agency for its failure to properly protect the personal information of federal employees which was stolen during a 2015 data breach. (National Treasury Employees Union)
  • With three months to go in the current administration, the EPA has launched a four-year initiative. It’s the EPA’s environmental justice plan for 2016 through 2020. It replaces and builds on the agency’s expiring four-year plan. It aims to focus enforcement efforts on making sure low-income, tribal and other minority people have clean air and water. EJ 2020 comes with a 66-page action agenda that seeks to more deeply embed environmental justice into the EPA’s permitting process and rulemaking. (Environmental Protection Agency)

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