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Reposted by Natalie Alms

The Associated Press @apnews.com · 13h

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisted “no one has died” as a result of U.S. foreign aid cuts. In Myanmar, the grieving father of a 2-year-old boy who died after their food rations were cut calls such claims a lie.

Starving children screaming for food as US aid cuts unleash devastation and death across Myanmar

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has repeatedly said “no one has died" because of his government’s decision to gut its foreign aid program.

bit.ly

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Natalie Alms @almsnatalie.bsky.social · 23h

www.nextgov.com/people/2025/...

How Trump’s OPM director wants to attract tech talent after months of workforce cuts

OPM Director Scott Kupor wants to bring on new feds with cutting edge skills, but the government’s recent flood of layoffs and resignations could complicate that effort. With a government shutdown ong...

www.nextgov.com

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Natalie Alms @almsnatalie.bsky.social · 23h

NEW: Scott Kupor, Trump's senior HR official, says the federal government has a shortage of technology talent - even as techies are among the 300,000 feds leaving govt this year.

Have the last 9+ months hurt the pitch for new talent at all?

"The answer is unequivocally no." 👇

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Natalie Alms @almsnatalie.bsky.social · 1d

thanks for sharing, Barry!

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Reposted by Natalie Alms

Barry Yeoman @barryyeoman.com · 2d

"At least 15 government oversight websites were down—and with them, access to watchdog reports and required hotline and whistleblower links—as of Wednesday evening. That's not due to the federal shutdown that began at midnight; it's a deliberate move by the White House." @almsnatalie.bsky.social

Trump administration knocks out at least 15 oversight websites, saying IGs 'lied to the public'

It's not a shutdown issue: the White House is withholding funds from the umbrella organization for the government's inspectors general.

www.nextgov.com

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Reposted by Natalie Alms

Ryan J. Reilly “paints a vivid and urgent portrait of… disarray” @ryanjreilly.com · 6d

DOJ's internal watchdog warns about conditions at Terre Haute federal prison, in a document that they can't post to the interwebs because of the government shutdown.

www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...

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Reposted by Natalie Alms

Ryan J. Reilly “paints a vivid and urgent portrait of… disarray” @ryanjreilly.com · 6d

Trump administration knocks out at least 15 oversight websites, saying IGs 'lied to the public'

www.nextgov.com/digital-gove...

Trump administration knocks out at least 15 oversight websites, saying IGs 'lied to the public'

It's not a shutdown issue: the White House is withholding funds from the umbrella organization for the government's inspectors general.

www.nextgov.com

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Natalie Alms @almsnatalie.bsky.social · 6d

If anyone needs an old watchdog report and is having trouble accessing it with so many IG websites down, the Payment Integrity Alliance has archived all reports from Oversight. gov from 2010 up through Sept. 26 here: programintegrity.org/search/

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Natalie Alms @almsnatalie.bsky.social · 7d

My count of now unaccessible watchdog websites is now up to 16 after OMB witheld funds from a central watchdog council that operates many OIG websites.

This means the reports housed on these websites aren't accessible, nor are links for whistleblowers.

Natalie Alms @almsnatalie.bsky.social · 7d

NEW: At least 10 watchdog websites are dark after OMB withheld funds from a watchdog council, removing access to thousands of watchdog reports and required whistleblower links.

OMB's move to withhold funds - which has received Republican pushback - is separate from the shutdown.

Government watchdog websites go dark as OMB withholds funds from IG committee

The Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency is funded largely through a no-year revolving account, rather than the regular appropriations that lapsed Oct. 1.

www.nextgov.com

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Natalie Alms @almsnatalie.bsky.social · 7d

Add to the list the OIG websites for National Archives and Records Administration and the website for the International Trade Commission.

The NLRB OIG website is also down with a 404 message, and the Smithsonian website with a 403 message.

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Natalie Alms @almsnatalie.bsky.social · 7d

So are the OIG websites for Americorps, Architect of the Capitol and the Export Import Bank.

FTC OIG is also down with a difference message "Bad request"

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Natalie Alms @almsnatalie.bsky.social · 7d

OIG websites for USDA, Ed, DOJ, Interior, VA, EPA, NRC, OPM, TIGTA are down.

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Natalie Alms @almsnatalie.bsky.social · 7d

www.nextgov.com/digital-gove...

Government watchdog websites go dark as OMB withholds funds from IG committee

The Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency is funded largely through a no-year revolving account, rather than the regular appropriations that lapsed Oct. 1.

www.nextgov.com

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Natalie Alms @almsnatalie.bsky.social · 7d

NEW: At least 10 watchdog websites are dark after OMB withheld funds from a watchdog council, removing access to thousands of watchdog reports and required whistleblower links.

OMB's move to withhold funds - which has received Republican pushback - is separate from the shutdown.

Government watchdog websites go dark as OMB withholds funds from IG committee

The Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency is funded largely through a no-year revolving account, rather than the regular appropriations that lapsed Oct. 1.

www.nextgov.com

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Natalie Alms @almsnatalie.bsky.social · 8d

If top Republicans in the Senate aren't successful in their aim for the White House to reverse a decision to effectively shutter the independent watchdog entity, CIGIE, the website I check daily for new oversight reports will go dark tomorrow.

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/30/u...

Trump Administration Defunds Federal Watchdog Office

www.nytimes.com

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Natalie Alms @almsnatalie.bsky.social · 8d

The White House Office of Management and Budget is piecing together guidance on AI to prevent "woke AI" in the federal government.

This comes as agencies are getting blowback from contracting with xAI after it called itself "MechaHitler."

www.nextgov.com/artificial-i...

White House seeks industry input as it crafts “anti-woke” AI guidelines

Critics have said that the July executive order on “woke” AI could chill free speech, despite the administration’s stated focus on protecting it.

www.nextgov.com

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Reposted by Natalie Alms

Zack Colman @zcolman.bsky.social · 10d

Now on the Energy Dept’s banned words list: “Climate change,” “green” and “emissions.”

subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2025...

POLITICO Pro: Energy Dept. adds ‘climate change’ and ‘emissions’ to banned words list

It is the latest in a series of Trump administration efforts to dispute, silence or downplay climate change.

subscriber.politicopro.com

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Natalie Alms @almsnatalie.bsky.social · 13d

www.govexec.com/workforce/20...

The Interior Department is taking steps to implement layoffs

After a series of delays, DOI is preparing RIF lists as it looks to implement significant personnel cuts in the coming weeks.

www.govexec.com

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Natalie Alms @almsnatalie.bsky.social · 13d

NEW: The Interior Department is moving forward planning for layoffs that could, along with other staffing losses, shrink the department by over a third since Trump took office.

Interior is using AutoRIF for the layoffs, & those working on them have been forced to sign NDAs 👇

The Interior Department is taking steps to implement layoffs

After a series of delays, DOI is preparing RIF lists as it looks to implement significant personnel cuts in the coming weeks.

www.govexec.com

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Reposted by Natalie Alms

The Guardian @theguardian.com · 14d

WHO rejects Trump’s claims of link between Tylenol and autism

Body says research has found ‘no consistent association’ and urges pregnant women to follow doctors’ advice The World Health Organization (WHO) is pushing back against contested claims by the Trump administration that acetaminophen use during pregnancy heightens the risk of autism, further underscoring that no scientific consensus supports such a connection. “Extensive research, including large-scale studies over the past decade, has found no consistent association,” the agency said in a Wednesday statement. Continue reading...

www.theguardian.com

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Natalie Alms @almsnatalie.bsky.social · 14d

NEW: The IRS is phasing out paper checks for tax refunds next week. It's still working on the guidance for waivers to the requirement

www.nextgov.com/digital-gove...

IRS announces the phased end of paper check refunds

The Trump White House set a Sept. 30 deadline for the Treasury Department to stop cutting paper checks, although the IRS said it will still be issuing a “limited number” of checks where there is no al...

www.nextgov.com

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Natalie Alms @almsnatalie.bsky.social · 20d

The State Department is building beyond genAI towards "AI agents that will take actions for humans," its tech head said yesterday.

Still, it's had trouble getting pickup for its existing genAI bot, which only about half of its workforce uses.

www.nextgov.com/artificial-i...

State Department hopes to use agentic AI to assist employee tasks, CIO says

That kind of autonomous action would go beyond the current capabilities of the agency’s AI chatbot, StateChat.

www.nextgov.com

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Natalie Alms @almsnatalie.bsky.social · 20d

go Deacs!

Wake Forest University @wakeforest.bsky.social · 20d

Wake Forest University announced today that undergraduates from North Carolina with annual family incomes less than $200,000 per year will attend tuition-free, beginning for students admitted for the 2026 fall semester.
Read more: wakefo.rest/3KeRLzT

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Natalie Alms @almsnatalie.bsky.social · 21d

Sen. Warren, Rep. Stansbury and six other lawmakers want to know if White House AI and crypto czar David Sacks has overstayed his 130 day limit as a special government employee.

Sacks remains "deeply invested in the crypto and AI companies," they say.

www.nextgov.com/people/2025/...

Democrats launch ethics investigation into AI and crypto czar David Sacks

Sacks’ role as a special government employee limits him to a 130-day period of service within a single year.

www.nextgov.com

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Natalie Alms @almsnatalie.bsky.social · 21d

www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/do...

www.finance.senate.gov