I hope you all enjoyed your Fourth of July and celebrated the things you love about our country. My in-laws live outside the city limits, so around these parts the Fourth also means shooting off fireworks (in a safe manner of course).

Because of the holiday, we’re offering you a rare double feature of news about government contracting–2 weeks in 1! So sit back and enjoy.

Some of the interesting news this week includes updates on an alleged email scheme involving a phony contracting officer, NIST draft guideline for developing artificial intelligence technical standards, and contractor supply chain liabilities.

• Supply chains may pose weakest security link.Signal]
• Industry group asks Senate Appropriations Committee to rein-in FFRDCs. [FederalNewsNetwork]
• Men took $346M in contracts meant for minorities and disabled vets. [KCStar]
• DOD Should Comprehensively Assess How Its Policies Affect the Defense Industry.[GAO]
• Toledo man sentenced to federal prison for bribery scheme. [TheBlade]
• Report unveils decades of public projects wrongfully awarded to bogus Native American contractor. [ConstructionDive]
• Government wants public help with its online shopping problem. [FederalTimes]
• U.S. Army Prime Defense Contractor Used Shell Companies, Kickbacks to Defraud Federal Government. [ClearanceJobs]
• Mystery of NSA leak lingers as stolen document case winds up. [FederalTimes]
• This misguided court ruling could put hundreds of Americans who are blind out of work. [TheHill]
• Border-surveillance subcontractor suspended after cyberattack revealed sensitive monitoring details.[TheWashingtonPost]
• A massive international email scam netted $3 million worth of top-secret US military equipment[QZ.com]
• How low-value DHS contracts can have high costs. [FederalTimes]
• NIST Sets Draft Guidelines for Government AI. [darkreading]
• Watchdogs urge more defense contractor accountability as DoD seeks ethics waivers for Esper.[FederalNewsNetwork]

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