The latest report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office lands with a familiar thud but a sharper edge than before: the United States Postal Service is still running an unsustainable business model, and time is no longer a vague concept stretched over decades but a very real countdown measured in just a few fiscal years. Despite a sweeping ten-year strategy launched in 2021 and substantial congressional relief delivered through the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022, the GAO concludes that the fundamentals remain stubbornly misaligned.

The GAO report titled “HAVANA SYNDROME: Better Patient Communication and Monitoring of Key DOD Tasks Needed to Better Ensure Timely Treatment,” released in July 2024, addresses the challenges faced by U.S. government employees and their families who have experienced anomalous health incidents (AHIs). These incidents, first observed among Department of State staff in Havana, Cuba, in 2016, have affected individuals across various federal agencies both overseas and domestically. Symptoms typically include head pain, tinnitus, vision problems, vertigo, and cognitive difficulties, often following a loud sound.

The GAO report titled “HYPERSONIC WEAPONS: DOD Could Reduce Cost and Schedule Risks by Following Leading Practices,” published in July 2024, examines the Department of Defense’s (DOD) efforts in developing offensive hypersonic weapons. Hypersonic weapons, which can travel at least five times the speed of sound and have unpredictable flight paths, are seen as crucial for the U.S. to strike heavily defended targets from a distance. The report identifies several key issues and recommendations for the DOD.