The Third Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court decision dismissing a tort claim filed under the Federal Tort Claims Act by an airline traveler who was arrested after an alleged altercation with Transportation Security Officers (“TSOs”). The appeals court held that the United States did not, through the Federal Tort Claims Act (“FTCA”), waive sovereign immunity from tort claims made against TSOs, who were not “investigative or law enforcement officers.”

The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund has named Major Donnie Drose, Sergeant Clay Conyers and Corporal Kevin Wilson of the Clarendon County (SC) Sheriff’s Office, as the recipients of its Officer of the Month Award for June 2018.

On the August 3rd episode of FedTalk on Federal News Radio, join host Tony Vergnetti and Michael Livingston from the Livingston Financial Group to hear about important financial planning strategies for all federal employees to consider.

Catch up on last week’s FEDtalk and hear about the changing face of federal space exploration and research, including the increased reliance on public/private partnerships with academia and private organizations such as Boeing and SpaceX.

This week, federal officials charged Mariia Butina, a 29-year-old Russian citizen living in Washington D.C., “with conspiracy to act as an illegal agent of the Russian government, including attempting to establish ‘back-channel’ relationships with U.S. officials on behalf of the Kremlin,” according to Politico.

Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court decided on Carpenter v. U.S., a case that FEDagent previously reported on. In a majority opinion delivered by Chief Justice Roberts, the Court held that the third-party doctrine does not apply to cell-site location information, and the acquisition of historical cell-site location information is a search within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment, for which the government would generally have to obtain a warrant.

Did you know that counterfeiters will produce $1.7 trillion in fake products worldwide this year?

The Department of Justice, as referenced in last week’s “The Takedown” column here in FEDagent, recently announced that it had filed charges against a Virginia man who had taken out a number of loans under the identity of a federal employee.

Tech news website Fifth Domain has flagged “what appears to be the first illicit use of federal employee data that was swiped by suspected Chinese hackers in 2015, creating a cloud of mystery that has sparked the attention of members of Congress.”

On June 25, 2018, President Trump signed into law the Whistleblower Protection Coordination Act (“WPCA”), which permanently reauthorized a “Whistleblower Protection Coordinator” at each federal agency’s respective Office of Inspector General.

The National Law Enforcement Museum is proud to announce its partnership with the Illumination Project. Originated in Charleston, South Carolina, the Illumination Project began as a heartfelt response to the 2015 murders of nine parishioners during a bible study class at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church.

Over 9 million current and former Federal Employees and their families rely on some form of benefits from the Federal Government. With the quantity of rules and regulations surrounding these benefits, it’s imperative to have a firm understanding of how these policies can directly affect you.

This week, a federal grand jury charged James Alex Fields Jr. with thirty separate counts relating to his alleged perpetration of the August 12th, 2017 attack in Charlottesville, Virginia. According to the indictment, Fields entered his vehicle following his participation in a gathering of white nationalists called the “Unite the Right Rally” and subsequently observed the gathering of “a racially and ethnically diverse crowd of individuals.”

In two companion cases before the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, United States Postal Service employees challenged MSPB dismissals, for lack of jurisdiction, of their removal appeals.

The White House issued several executive orders on May 25, 2018 affecting the management of the federal workforce.

This week, the Department of Justice announced Joshua Schulte, age 29, faces a 13-count superseding indictment concerning his alleged theft of classified national defense information.

The names of 360 law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty—including 129 who died in 2017—were formally dedicated on the evening of May 13th during the 30th Annual Candlelight Vigil held on the National Mall and produced by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.

Yesterday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the U.S. Attorney’s Office “returned a more than 500-year-old copy of Christopher Columbus’ letter describing his discoveries in the Americas to Spain during an evening repatriation ceremony at the Residence of the Spanish Ambassador to the United States,” according to a press release posted by the Department of Justice.

Tune in to the June 15th FedTalk to hear about what’s in store for federal technology for the coming year, including developments on expanded use of artificial intelligence, extended reality, and the unveiling by the Department of Energy of Summit, the world’s most powerful supercomputer.

Museum also announces partnership with national community organization to promote stronger relationship between law enforcement and communities.