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Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has spent its first 100 days slashing government programs and firing employees. Yet Musk views DOGE not just as a downsizing force, but also as a team of technologically elite shock troops tasked with rapidly modernizing outdated government systems. One of DOGEs primary targets on that front is the Office of Personnel Management’s antiquated retirement application system, which still relies on paper forms and manual processing. The system handles retirement applications and manages benefits for former federal employees and their families, coordinating closely with agency HR teams and payroll centers. DOGE and its allies inside the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) say theyve now built and tested a fully digital, AI-enhanced replacement system, which they plan to launch across federal agencies on June 2. But the plans rely heavily on a product built during the Biden administration called the Online Retirement Application (ORA) system, say two former OPM employees who recently left the agency. A leaked planning document shared with Fast Company shows the ORA pilot launched in 2023 with a handful of agency HR and payroll offices, serving a few hundred retirees. The plan under Biden was to roll out the ORA system government-wide in 2025. The first source, who worked on retirement systems at OPM and spoke to Fast Company on the condition of anonymity, says that ORA is still just a prototype, and not built to support tens of thousands of real retirees. Yet one of the first actions OPM took when Trump came into office was to interrupt the development of ORA. They reduced support contracts and added a team of DOGE developers, adds the second source, who until recently worked at OPM and also spoke on the condition of anonymity. There is now a war room to accelerate the work. DOGE has kept its version of the ORA system largely under wraps. It remains unclear whether the team changed the original systems architecture or user experience, or how the systems AI components were developed, trained, or integrated. A White House official told Fox News that the AI met Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) requirements for securing and monitoring cloud-based services used by government agencies. (Neither DOGE nor OPM responded to Fast Companys requests for comment.) The first ex-OPM source fears that DOGE, without fully understanding the federal retirement workflow, will simply roll out the ORA system as is. I think instead of testing it with some Department of Interior retirees, they’re just slapping the system into being a requirement, the source says. This would put the onus entirely on all retiring federal employees to correctly input their data and documents into the system without help from their agency HR department, according to the source. Few dispute the need for modernization. The current system processes around 100,000 retirement applications annuallyin a literal underground mine in Boyers, Pennsylvania. The paper-based workflow is infamously slow and prone to error, often causing months-long delays that can be devastating for retirees who depend on timely benefits. While DOGE cites a Trump executive order from February 11 as the mandate behind its work, the OPMs original ORA and digital records systems were responses to a 2021 Biden executive order aimed at modernizing federal technology. To spearhead the retirement-focused effort, Musk reportedly tapped Airbnb cofounder Joe Gebbia, a close friend and fellow Trump supporter. Gebbia joined DOGE in late February, vowing to apply his designer brain and startup spirit to build a paperless solution. Since then, a team of DOGE agents has been working out of a command center at OPM, collaborating with Retirement Services personnel and select staff. OPM acting director Charles Ezell said in a May 7 memo that the new system had already processed 25 retirement claims without generating papera claim that Gebbia then echoed on X. Notably, Ezell referred to the system in the memo as the ORA, the system built under Biden. Some experts suspect DOGEs version is little more than a minimum viable product (MVP)a rough prototype meant to demonstrate potential. Former U.S. Digital Service engineer Kate Green notes that MVPs often depend on manual work-arounds and arent ready for large-scale use. These MVPs often have manual steps or work-arounds for difficult parts of the app, and future development eliminates these steps to create something fully automated, she tells Fast Company. The second ex-OPM source says DOGE may be emphasizing flashy featureslike ditching paperwhile ignoring the real pain points, such as retirement applications with missing documents, missing signatures, or errors. Personally, the source says, I think they are focusing just on paper because it seems like an easy win.
Category:
E-Commerce
Republicans in Congress are moving with rapid speed to advance President Donald Trump’s big bill of tax breaks, spending cuts and beefed-up border security funding as leaders work to enact many of his campaign promises.House committees have been laboring for months to draft the legislation, which Republicans have labeled “THE ONE, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL,” a nod to Trump himself. Speaker Mike Johnson is pushing to approve the package and send it to the Senate by Memorial Day.Democrats say they will fight what House party leader Hakeem Jeffries calls “this extreme and toxic bill.”Here’s a look at what’s in and out of the legislative package so far: Tax cuts for individuals and businesses The tax portion of the GOP legislation contains more than $5 trillion in tax cuts, according to an estimate from the Joint Committee on Taxationcosts that are partially offset by spending cuts elsewhere and other changes in the tax code.Republicans look to make permanent the individual income tax cuts passed in President Donald Trump’s first term, plus enact some of the promises he made on the campaign trail to not tax tips, overtime and interest on auto loans. Republicans partially offset the tax breaks by rolling back the clean energy tax credits passed during Joe Biden’s presidency, such as a $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicles, bringing the overall cost of the tax cuts down to about $3.7 trillion.The bill is expected to undergo further changes in the coming weeks. Lawmakers from New York are leading an effort to boost the state and local tax deduction, which the bill would already increase from $10,000 to $30,000 for families making less than $400,000 per year.The legislation provides a deduction for those workers in service industry and other jobs that have traditionally relied on tips.The package provides tax relief for automobile shoppers with a temporary deduction of up to $10,000 on car loan interest, applying the benefit only for those vehicles where the final assembly occurred in the United States. The tax break would expire at the end of Trump’s term.For seniors, there would be a bolstered $4,000 deduction on Social Security wages for those with adjusted incomes no higher than $75,000 for individuals and $150,000 for couples. States to pick up more of the tab for food assistance House Republicans are looking to shift some of the cost of the Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program, known as SNAP, to the states. States would shoulder 5% of benefit costs under the bill beginning in fiscal year 2028. The share could also go higher for those states with high rates of overpayments and underpayments. The bill would also require states to pick up 75% of the administrative costs.Currently, states shoulder none of the benefit costs and half of the administration costs.Republicans argue that states have minimal incentive to control costs as a result of the current cost-sharing arrangement. But the changes would give them the incentive to enhance efficiencies and improve outcomes for recipients.Republicans also are expanding work requirements for food aid recipients, which under current law applies to individuals without dependents aged 18-54. The bill expands the work requirement through age 64 and exempts only those caring for a dependent child under the age of 7.At the same time, the legislation would invest $60 billion in new money for agriculture programs, sending aid to farmers. New work requirements for Medicaid A centerpiece of the package is more than $900 billion in reduced spending, most of that coming through the Medicaid program.Republicans insist they are simply rooting out “waste, fraud and abuse” to generate savings with new work and eligibility requirements. But Democrats warn that millions of Americans will lose coverage. In the 15 years since Obamacare became law, Medicaid has only expanded as most states have tapped into federal funds.An estimate from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said the proposals would reduce the number of people with health care by at least 7.6 million from the Medicaid changes, and possibly more with other changes to the Affordable Care Act.To be eligible for Medicaid, there would be new “community engagement requirements” of at least 80 hours per month of work, education or service for able-bodied adults without dependents. The new requirement would not kick in until Jan. 1, 2029. People would also have to verify their eligibility to be in the program twice a year, rather than just once.Applicants could not qualify for Medicaid if they have a home that is valued at more than $1 million. Funding for 1 million migrant deportations, 20,000 new officers and the border wall The legislation would provide $46.5 billion to revive construction of Trump’s wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, and more money for the deportation agenda.There’s $4 billion to hire an additional 3,000 new Border Patrol agents as well as 5,000 new customs officers, and $2.1 billion for signing and retention bonuses, for a total of $69 billion in new spending.It includes major changes to immigration policy, imposing a $1,000 fee on migrants seeking asylumsomething the nation has never done, putting it on par with few others, including Australia and Iran.Overall, the plan is to remove 1 million immigrants annually and house 100,000 people in detention centers. It calls for 10,000 more Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and investigators. More money for the Pentagon and Trump’s ‘Golden Dome’ The House Armed Services Committee was tasked with drafting legislation with $100 billion in new spending. But they did that and more, passing a bill with $150 billion for the Defense Department and national security.Among the highlights, it would provide $25 billion for Trump’s “Golden Dome for America,” a long-envisioned missile defense shield, $21 billion to restock the nation’s ammunition arsenal, $34 billion to expand the naval fleet with more shipbuilding and some $5 billion for border security.It also includes $9 billion for servicemember quality of life-related issues, including housing, health care and special pay. Tax on university endowments and overhaul of student loans A wholesale revamping of the student loan program is key to the legislation, providing $330 billion in budget cuts and savings.The proposal would replace all existing student loan repayment plans with just two: a standard option with monthly payments spread out over 10 to 25 years and a “repayment assistance” plan that is generally less generous than those it would replace.Among other changes, the bill would repeal Biden-era regulations that made it easier for borrowers to get loans canceled if their colleges defrauded them or closed suddenly.There would be a tax increase,up to 21%, on some university endowments. Federal employee pension cuts The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform targeted federal workers’ pensions for a projected $50.9 billion in deficit savings over 10 years.Most of the savings would come from requiring federal workers hired before 2014 to pay more into the retirement system. They would have to match the 4.4% salary rate paid by federal workers hired since 2014. More drilling, mining on public lands One section of the bill would allow increased leasing of public lands for drilling, mining and logging while clearing the path for more development by speeding up government approvals. Royalty rates paid by companies to extract oil, gas and coal would be cut, reversing former President Joe Biden’s attempts to curb fossil fuels to help address climate change.Oil and gas royalty rates would drop from 16.7% on public lands and 18.75% offshore to a uniform 12.5%. Royalties for coal would drop from 12.5% to 7%.The measure calls for four oil and gas lease sales in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge over the next decade. It also seeks to boost the ailing coal industry with a mandate to make available for leasing 6,250 square miles of public landsan area greater in size than Connecticut.Republican supporters say the lost revenue would be offset by increased development. It’s uncertain if companies would have an appetite for leases given the industry’s precipitous decline in recent years as utilities switched to cleaner burning fuels and renewable energy.In a last-minute add, Republicans also included a provision authorizing sales of hundreds of thousands of acres of public lands in Nevada and Utah, prompting outrage from Democrats and environmentalists. Associated Press writers Collin Binkley in Washington and Matthew Brown in Billings, Montana, contributed to this report. Kevin Freking and Lisa Mascaro, Associated Press
Category:
E-Commerce
Ever wonder why the sound of rain makes you instantly drowsy, but a ticking clock drives you up the wall? Thats because not all noise soothes the brain in the same way. Sleep sounds might seem like just background buzz, but they’re carefully engineered to allow your brain to let go. Behind every babbling brook or rainforest storm track is an intricate design meant to quiet the mind, block out distractions, and nudge you toward sleep. As more people rely on sleep sounds to wind down, the industry behind them has surged, which is evidence of just how common this nightly ritual has become. Mediation and mindfulness app Headspace, says 51% of listeners use its sleep content (the app has been downloaded more than 70 million times). Ozlo, a company that created bluetooth earbuds that mask noise with sleep sounds, launched its flagship product in October 2024 after a successful Kickstarter. Since then, the company has sold nearly 100,000 units worldwide. Meanwhile, platforms like YouTube and Spotify are packed with deep sleep playlists, sound baths, and endless loops of ambient noise. Color noisewhite, brown, or pink, which emit sound energy at different frequenciescan be surprisingly effective at helping you fall and stay asleep. But we often oversimplify how they work, says Ethan Cohen, a music and sound composer at Ozlo Sleepbuds, and these sounds alone arent a cure-all. There’s often this tendency to say, this sound does X, Y, or Z. But you don’t just press a button and conk out, he says. Theyre facilitating the conditions for healthy sleep or relaxation. Theyre giving you your best chance at sleeping well. A lot of what makes a sound effective is personal. People tend to like certain frequency ranges based on nature, says Scott Sorenson, audio engineer for Headspace. White noise is what rain sounds likeits really high pitched. Brown noise is a much lower frequency rangeit sounds like youre underwater or even in the womb. We all have that maternal connection. Memory plays a huge role, too. If you grew up next to a highway, the rumble of trucks might feel oddly soothing. If your childhood nights were filled with crickets and light wind, even the low hum of traffic might keep you awake. There’s a lot of preference involved based on what is happening in the person’s life and in their environment, Cohen says. Thats why both Ozlo and Headspace have built full libraries of sleep soundsto meet people where they are. Sound composers like Cohen and Sorenson go way beyond simple static. They build immersive sound environments: layers of familiar, soothing textures help create a feeling of safety and ease, quietly occupying the mind just enough to help you drift off. Inside the craft of sleep sound design Building the perfect sleep sound is part science, part art. And most sounds are designed to serve two main purposes: mask disturbances (like traffic or snoring), and calm the mind. Ozlos most popular request is for sleep maskssounds built specifically to block out noisy environments. To design one, Cohen studies how these external sleep disturbances sound at a frequency level. I look at what the noise sounds like on its own. Then what it sounds like once our headphones are sitting in your ears, he says. From there, he builds layers to cover the gaps, often at a similar frequency as the offending sound. The goal is that any time an external sound is also heard, it just blends into that bed of sound, he says. Were gently raising the threshold of what sounds a person is hearing so that if something does bubble up in their external environment, nothing pokes through the quiet and causes a disturbance. Calming tracks that quiet racing thoughts take a slightly different approach. Instead of just covering up noise, they aim to transport you somewhere elsesomewhere your brain instinctively feels safe. It should evoke positive or calming memories, says Cohen. [carousel_block id=”carousel-1747168293067″] Sorenson describes this process as constructing an audio diorama: layering field recordings, ambient noise, and subtle musical motifs to build a miniature world for a listeners mind to explore. I want to create things that are hidden inside of the sound. That if you listen, you can peel back the layers and go deeper and deeper, he says. That kind of mindset allows the mind to drift into that other space when we sleep. Right now, Cohen is working on re-creating the experience of being on a train. He started with a field recording he made on a recent ridethat becomes the foundation. Then, he gets deeper to fill in the gaps that the audio didnt pick up: What materials is the train made out of? Does it feel like a safe, well-running train? Does it feel crowded? he asks. Every detail matters, even if listeners dont consciously recognize it. Once he sets the scene, Cohen begins layering in other sounds: rain tapping against the window (either digitally created or carefully edited from a sample), the soft chatter of other passengers, intermittent gusts of wind, the distant call of a train horn. Those will all be separate elements that I’m mixing together to create a sense of realism, he says. Keeping the brain engagedbut not awake Even though personal preference shapes what we find soothing, good sleep sounds share a few key traits. First: predictability. A well-studied aspect of what makes something relaxing is that there’s formal predictability, says Cohen. There won’t be anything that is surprising or shocking or jolting in the experience. Think about how a sudden car alarm or barking dog snaps you wide awake. But too much predictability backfires. If it’s too simple, too monotonous, it becomes annoying, says Sorenson. Think of the maddening tick of a clock or rhythmic drip of a faucet. The best sounds strike a balance: steady enough to be calming, but varied enough to keep your brain gently engaged. Rain is a classic example. If you listen to the rain, there’s an immense amount of randomness and variation within a larger predictable phenomenon, says Cohen. [Images: Courtesy of Headspace] Another detail most listeners wont consciously notice: the key of the music itself. Sorenson has found that sleep sounds built around major keysrather than minor onestend to feel lighter and more relaxing. The best sleep sounds don’t just drown out the worldthey create a new one that’s easy to get lost in. And right now, theyre one of the gentlest tools we have to improve sleep. In a world obsessed with quick fixes, Sorensen says, theres something powerful about finding rest through creativity, memory, and sound. Art is important. Sound and music have a healing effect on people, says Sorenson. Potentially at some point, there could be a pill for everything. But right now, this is what we have.
Category:
E-Commerce
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