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May 2, 2016

Dozens of feds on paid leave for over a year, senator wants end to costly practice

Federal employees facing internal probes and other disciplinary action have been permitted to remain on paid leave for months on end -- sometimes for periods of over a year -- and now lawmakers on Capitol Hill want to know why.

May 2, 2016

VA apologizes for 'ill-advised' ban on veterans' cellphones

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) apologized on Wednesday for temporarily implementing what it called an "ill-advised" policy at some medical centers that banned veterans from bringing cellphones to appointments, according to a statement provided by the VA to the Washington Free Beacon.

May 2, 2016

Judge blocks new federal rule on jurisdiction of waterways

A federal judge in North Dakota on Thursday blocked a new Obama administration rule that would give the federal government jurisdiction over some state waterways.

May 2, 2016

Topping Turmoil: Big Pizza fights ObamaCare menu mandate

The pizza lobby is mounting a double-extra-large battle against looming government regulations that would force their franchises to post a dizzying array of calorie counts on their menus.

May 2, 2016

Critics say new State Department guidelines meant to 'chill' employee speech

Tougher State Department rules governing federal workers' speech -- covering everything from their congressional testimony to tweets -- have critics warning of a chilling effect that could be a way to put officials on notice as Congress probes the Benghazi attack and Hillary Clinton email scandal.

May 2, 2016

Malaysia gets better grade on human trafficking, but senators suspect political influence

Senators angered by the decision to upgrade Malaysia in the State Department's human trafficking report threatened a subpoena on Thursday unless they receive all communications related to the annual U.S. ranking of countries' efforts to combat modern-day slavery.

May 2, 2016

Obama administration announces Pell Grants for prisoners

Some federal and state prisoners could begin receiving student aid to take college courses -- while still behind bars -- as early as the 2016-2017 school year.

May 2, 2016

Hackers stole Social Security numbers from 21.5 million, gov’t admits

Hackers swiped Social Security numbers from 21.5 million people -- as well as fingerprint records and information from background check investigations -- in the massive breach earlier this year of federal employee data, the government acknowledged Thursday.

May 2, 2016

Feds accused of pushing ‘utopias’ in wealthy neighborhoods with diversity regs

Congressional Republicans are trying to thwart a new federal housing rule they claim would allow Washington to play a heavy-handed role in trying to remake upscale neighborhoods as racially and economically diverse "utopias."

May 2, 2016

HHS to Congress on ObamaCare court ruling: It’s your problem

President Obama's top health official testified Wednesday that if the Supreme Court issues a ruling that upends the Affordable Care Act, it's up to Congress and the states to figure out a solution.