Majority of Federal Workers Unhappy, Disengaged: New Survey
PICKS are stories from many sources, selected by our editors or recommended by our readers because they are important, surprising, troubling, enlightening, inspiring, or amusing. They appear on our site and in our daily newsletter. Please send suggested articles, videos, podcasts, etc. to picks@whowhatwhy.org.
|
Listen To This Story
 |
Majority of Federal Workers Unhappy, Disengaged: New Survey (Maria)
The author writes, “A new survey of federal workers found that, government wide, only 32% of the federal workforce is satisfied with and engaged in their jobs. The numbers are particularly stark at certain larger agencies: Only 20% of the Health Department and Human Services staff is satisfied; along with 22.5% of the Treasury Department and 8.1% of the few employees remaining at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The findings come in the wake of the Trump administration’s dramatic efforts to reshape the federal workforce last year.”
FBI and IRS To Investigate Nonprofit Groups for Domestic Terrorism Links, Sources Say (DonkeyHotey)
From CBS News: “FBI and IRS agents are forming a new initiative to investigate nonprofit organizations over suspected possible links to domestic terrorism, sources briefed on the matter told CBS News. In December, Attorney General Pam Bondi ordered law enforcement agencies and federal prosecutors to prioritize efforts to investigate and prosecute groups and individuals who belong to the anti-fascist antifa movement or are deemed ‘extremist.’”
US Spending on First Week of Iran War Raises Stark Questions About Priorities (Russ)
From The Guardian: “The US spent $11.3 billion on just the first week of its military assault on Iran. This huge expenditure dwarfs the annual budgets of many of the public health and scientific agencies the Trump administration has sought to cut, raising stark questions about the country’s priorities. … This figure does not capture the full cost of the conflict, such as deployment of forces, and will now be far higher given the ongoing nature of the war.”
Gamblers Trying To Win a Bet on Polymarket Are Vowing To Kill Me if I Don’t Rewrite an Iran Missile Story (Bethany)
From The Times of Israel: “Bettors are using death threats to try to get The Times of Israel’s military correspondent to change his report on a missile impact in central Israel. This is his alarming account.”
A Warmer Climate Means Bigger Hail (Laura)
The author writes, “Regions that are often pummeled by severe storms — like the Midwestern United States under last weekend’s powerful thunderstorms and deadly tornadoes — could also face the threat of more extreme hail. New research … for the first time linked human-caused warming with the size of hailstones in a single thunderstorm.”
Study Finds ChatGPT Gets Science Wrong More Often Than You Think (Mili)
The author writes, “A new study put ChatGPT to the test by asking it to judge whether hundreds of scientific hypotheses were true or false — and the results were far from reassuring. While the AI got it right about 80% of the time on the surface, its performance dropped significantly when accounting for random guessing, revealing only modest reasoning ability. Even more concerning, it frequently contradicted itself when asked the exact same question multiple times, sometimes flipping answers back and forth.”
Low and Slow Meets Forever: US Postage Stamps Honor Lowrider Car Culture (Reader Steve)
From the Associated Press: “From Mexican American and Chicano barrios in the American Southwest to the halls of the Smithsonian on the National Mall and even the streets of Japan, lowrider culture has become part of mainstream car culture around the globe. The U.S. Postal Service is joining the club with a new series of stamps dedicated to the low and slow rolling works of art.”
