THE FEDERAL NEWSCAST, (length about seven minutes), is a weekdaily, high-information compilation of nine 40-second news stories and news packages, generated by ...
Is the Army future soldier prep course putting recruits at risk?
The Defense Department Office of Inspector General found that recruits who went through the Army’s future soldier prep course did not receive medical services, such as metabolic and cardiovascular screenings, assessments by a dietitian or medical clearance before proceeding to basic training. The inspector general found that many trainees far exceeded the Army body fat standards before starting the prep course. The future soldier prep course was designed to help recruits meet academic and physical standards before starting basic training. The news comes after the service managed to meet its recruitment goals in 2024, mainly due to the success of the prep course .
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6:28
More leadership changes at the IRS
The acting head of the IRS is stepping down and retiring from the federal government. IRS Chief Operating Officer Melanie Krause will take over as the new acting IRS commissioner.
Krause joined the IRS in 2021 and started as its chief data and analytics officer. She’ll take over for Doug O’Donnell, a career employee with 38 years of service who will retire this Friday. The IRS recently fired about 6,500 probationary employees.
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5:56
OPM offers late guidance to federal workforce on Musk email
It came a little late – but the Office of Personnel Management issued guidance last night telling agencies how they should handle this weekend’s mysterious email telling employees to summarize their accomplishments over the past week. The memo, published just a few hours before the midnight deadline, says responses should be sent to both OPM and agency leadership. OPM says agencies should make their own decisions about what actions to take toward employees who don’t respond to the email. The guidance also makes clear that employees who didn’t have access to email yesterday shouldn’t be held to the deadline. It also completely exempts White House staff from the need to respond. Several large agencies have already told employees they don’t need to respond to the email.
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7:01
FEMA advisory board begins to take shape
A new advisory board that will consider reforms to the Federal Emergency Management Agency is starting to take shape. DHS put out the official charter for FEMA Review Council late last week. The council is slated to hold its first meeting by April 24th and deliver an initial report to the White House by late July. President Donald Trump has called for potentially eliminating FEMA and sending emergency management funds directly to states. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who has a seat on the new council, has said the administration should
“get rid of FEMA the way it exists today.”
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6:15
Connolly wants clarification of Elon Musk's role in the Trump administration
A top House Democrat is pressing for information on Elon Musk’s role in the Trump administration. In a letter sent to President Donald Trump Thursday, Congressman Gerry Connolly called for transparency in Musk’s involvement in federal operations. Connolly says Musk has been widely portrayed as the leader of the Department of Government Efficiency, or “DOGE.” But a White House official recently claimed that Musk is *not* an employee of the U.S. DOGE Service. Connolly’s letter pushes for answers on who *is* DOGE’s current administrator, and the nature of Musk’s relationship to the federal entity.
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THE FEDERAL NEWSCAST, (length about seven minutes), is a weekdaily, high-information compilation of nine 40-second news stories and news packages, generated by the non-partisan, non-political, private-sector team of reporters at Federal News Network. Federal News Radio Producer/Newscaster Peter Musurlian assembles and reads the stories on the THE FEDERAL DRIVE with TOM TEMIN, the weekday morning-drive program, heard from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. (ET) on the Federal News Network app (and website), on any smart speaker, and on WFED 1500 AM, a 50,000-watt 'Class A' powerhouse radio station in the nation's capital. The podcast is most popular with FNN's audience of highly educated listeners, who conveniently access THE FEDERAL NEWSCAST, 24/7, on any podcast platform . Listen to it (as just mentioned) or read the stories each weekday morning at FederalNewsNetwork.com, where the news items contain hyperlinks for those who want more information on a given story.
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