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Thank you for your patience while we work toward the development of new Job Alerts. We have developed a temporary solution that will allow you to pull up current job opportunities for the area(s) that you have subscribed. Clicking on the link below will take you to the current postings for GSA that are Open to the Public (All U.S. Citizens). GSA All Public Vacancies Thank you for your patience while we work toward the development of new Job Alerts. We have developed a temporary solution that will allow you to pull up current job opportunities for the area(s) that you have subscribed. Clicking on the link below will take you to the current postings for GSA open to Federal Employees and Special Appointment Eligibles. GSA All Status Vacancies

Make this Summer the One Where You Get in Shape

If you made a New Year’s resolution to get in shape this year, there’s still time to make a plan. The start of summer means longer days to be outside and more time to be active. Adding physical activity into your daily routine can make a big difference to your well-being. That small step can make this a healthy summer for you.  Be Aware; Listen Suicide is the second leading cause of death in people between the ages of 15 to 34 in the United States, according to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The report revealed an increase in suicides in nearly every state from 1999 through 2016. Suicide is a serious public health issue that affects families and communities across the nation. If you or someone you know needs help, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1 800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255) or through chat available 24/7. You can also text a professional for help with the Crisis Text Line at 741741. Watch Out for Moving Fraud Whether you're moving within the same state, across the country, or abroad, it's important to take steps to avoid becoming a victim of scams and fraud. This includes doing your research on moving companies, learning the warning signs of moving fraud (movers who demand cash upfront before the move or avoid giving you a written estimate), and more. Save These Important Numbers Keep these useful numbers in hand. Whether you've having a mental health crisis or facing issues on a trip abroad, it's important to contact an expert who can answer your questions and get you help: National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-8255: Provides free and confidential support 24/7 for people in distress and crisis. Nationwide Poison Control Center 1-800-222-1222: Call in case of suspected poisoning and get expert answers free of cost. Available 24/7. Office of Overseas Citizens Services 1-202-501-4444: For U.S. citizens abroad experiencing emergencies who can't contact an embassy. The phone number during non-business hours is 202-647-4000. USAGov 1-844-872-4681: Call for information on federal agencies, programs, benefits, services, and more. Available toll-free between 8:00 AM and 8:00 PM ET, Monday through Friday. Disponible en español. Sun Safety for Babies Did you know sunscreen can be harmful to infants under six months of age? While sunscreen use is highly recommended for children and adults, babies are different. Learn the best ways to keep your baby safe from the sun’s harmful rays this summer. Exam Stress With end-of-year exams approaching, your kids may be experiencing more stress and anxiety than usual. As a parent, you can't shield your kids from this stress completely, but you can help them develop healthy ways to cope with stress and solve everyday problems.  Heat Stroke Prevention Exposure to extreme heat in the summer can be dangerous, especially for children and older adults. The good news is that heat-related deaths and illnesses are preventable! Learn how to identify the warning signs of heat stroke and other heat-related illnesses and when to seek medical help immediately. Exam Stress and Anxiety End-of-year exams are coming up, and students may be experiencing more stress and anxiety than usual. Though this is normal, too much stress can have a negative impact on kids’ health. Teach your students how to cope with these tips, including breathing exercises and how to balance their lives during the exam period. Recognizing Poisonous Plants Most kids know to be wary of poison ivy, but many may not know how to spot other harmful plants, such as poison oak and poison sumac. Teach them how to identify common poisonous plants, as well as what to do if they were to accidentally come into contact with one of them. New NASA Exoplanet Exploration Website Are your students fascinated by the idea of life in other galaxies? NASA recently launched a new site that allows users to virtually explore the imagined surfaces of exoplanets from their own computers. Check out these 360-degree visualizations with your class and see how different life on other planets could be. Caito Foods, LLC Voluntarily Recalls Fresh Cut Melon Products Because of Possible Health Risk Caito Foods is voluntarily recalling fresh cut watermelon, honeydew melon, cantaloupe and fresh-cut mixed fruit containing one of these melons, produced at the Caito Foods facility in Indianapolis, because these products have the potential to be contaminated with  Salmonella . Use or consumption of products contaminated with Salmonella may result in serious illness. It can also produce serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy individuals infected with Salmonella can experience fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis. Reports of illnesses linked to these products are under investigation, and Caito Foods is voluntarily recalling the products out of an abundance of caution.  FTC alleges MOBE tells a whale of a tale with misleading money-making claims By Lesley Fair The company’s name is MOBE – pronounced Mōb, not Moby – but according to a lawsuit filed by the FTC, the defendants tell quite a fish story to the consumers they hook with money-making promises. Read more > FTC Action Halts MOBE, a Massive Internet Business Coaching Scheme The Federal Trade Commission has charged three individuals and nine businesses with bilking more than $125 million from thousands of consumers with a fraudulent business education program called MOBE (“My Online Business Education”). A federal court halted the scheme and froze the defendants’ assets at the FTC’s request. According to the FTC, the defendants behind this international operation target U.S. consumers—including service members, veterans, and older adults—through online ads, social media, direct mailers, and live events held throughout the country. This action follows the agency’s recent action against Digital Altitude, LLC, a competing business opportunity scheme that was also halted by court order. The FTC alleges that the defendants falsely claim that their business education program will enable people to start their own online businesses and earn substantial income. They claim to have a “proven” 21-step system for making substantial sums of money quickly and easily from internet marketing, which they promise to provide to those who join their program. According to the complaint, consumers who pay the initial $49 entry fee for the 21-step program are bombarded with sales pitches for membership packages that cost thousands of dollars, which the defendants pressure them to buy in order to continue through the 21 steps. The defendants eventually reveal that their “proven system” for making money is for consumers to sell the same memberships to others in the hopes of earning commissions on those sales. Most people who buy into the program and pay for the expensive memberships are unable to recoup their costs, and many experience crippling losses or mounting debts, including some who have lost more than $20,000, the FTC alleges. The FTC also alleges that the defendants offer refund and money-back guarantees to further mislead people to believe the program is risk-free, but they often refuse to honor refund request, or they provide refunds only after buyers make persistent demands or threaten to complain to the Better Business Bureau or law enforcement agencies. The defendants are Matthew Lloyd McPhee, also known as Matt Lloyd, an Australian living in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Russell W. Whitney, Jr.; Susan Zanghi; MOBE Ltd., also doing business as MOBE, My Online Business Education, and My Own Business Empire; MOBEProcessing.com Inc.; Transaction Management USA Inc.; MOBETraining.com Inc.; 9336-0311 Quebec Inc., also d/b/a Business Education Training; MOBE Pro Limited; MOBE Inc.; MOBE Online Ltd.; and Matt Lloyd Publishing.com Pty Ltd., also d/b/a Matt Lloyd Publishing and Home Business Builders. The Commission vote approving the complaint was 5-0. The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Orlando Division, entered a temporary restraining order against the defendants on June 5, 2018. NOTE: The Commission files a complaint when it has “reason to believe” that the law has been or is being violated and it appears to the Commission that a proceeding is in the public interest. The case will be decided by the court.Student Loan Debt Relief Scam Operators Agree to Settle FTC Charges The operators of a Los Angeles-based student loan debt relief scam have agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that they falsely claimed to be affiliated with the Department of Education, charged consumers illegal upfront fees, and collected monthly fees they falsely claimed would be credited toward consumers’ student loans. The settlement with Student Debt Relief Group is part of a coordinated federal-state law enforcement initiative targeting deceptive student loan debt relief scams announced by the FTC in October 2017, called Operation Game of Loans. According to the FTC’s complaint, individual defendant Salar Tahour and his companies – Los Angeles-based M&T Financial Group and American Counseling Center Corp., doing business as Student Debt Relief Group, SDRG, Student Loan Relief Counselors, SLRC, StuDebt, and Capital Advocates Group – bilked at least $7.3 million from consumers struggling to repay their student loans. The FTC alleged the defendants tricked consumers into believing they were affiliated with the Department of Education, deceived consumers into paying up to $1,000 in illegal upfront fees to enter them into free government programs, and charged consumers monthly fees they claimed would be credited toward their student loans. In reality, the FTC alleged, the defendants pocketed consumers’ money and responded to consumer complaints by changing the name of their companies rather than their business practices. Additionally, the FTC alleged that, to prevent consumers from discovering the scam, the defendants cut consumers off from their loan servicers and the Department of Education by instructing consumers to stop all communication with those entities. The defendants often obtained consumers’ Social Security numbers and FSA IDs and hijacked consumers’ online student loan accounts. The defendants also routinely placed illegal calls to consumers on the National Do Not Call Registry. Under the proposed settlement order, the defendants are permanently banned from engaging in any type of debt relief activities and from making misrepresentations or unsubstantiated claims related to financial or any other products or services. They also are prohibited from engaging in illegal telemarketing practices. The order includes a monetary judgment of $11,694,347.49 – the estimated consumer injury caused by defendants’ deceptive practices. Once the defendants turn over nearly all of their available assets, totaling more than $2.3 million, the remainder of the judgment would be suspended due to their inability to pay. The full judgment will become due immediately if the defendants are found to have misrepresented their financial condition. The Commission vote approving the stipulated final order in Student Debt Relief Group was 5-0. The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California entered the order on June 8, 2018. FTC Approves Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc.’s Application for Sale of Two Retail Fuel Stations in Alabama The Federal Trade Commission has approved an application by Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., or ACT, to divest two retail fuel stations in Alabama, as required under the FTC’s Jan. 5, 2018, order settling charges that ACT’s acquisition of competitor Jet-Pep, Inc. would violate federal antitrust law. The application requests the FTC to approve the divestiture of the two retail fuel stations located in Brewton and Monroeville, Alabama to Marketplace Development LLC, or Marketplace. The application notes that Marketplace has extensive experience operating retail fuel stations. The Commission vote to approve the application was 5-0. (FTC File No. 1710207; the staff contact is Elizabeth Piotrowski, Bureau of Competition, 202-326-2623.)Federal Trade Commission Appoints Andrew Katsaros as Agency’s Acting Inspector General Federal Trade Commission Chairman Joseph Simons appointed Andrew Katsaros as the FTC’s Acting Inspector General, succeeding Roslyn A. Mazer, who retired from federal service at the end of May after serving for more than three years as the agency’s Inspector General. “I’m pleased to announce that Andrew has joined us to fill this important position,” Simons said. “His knowledge and experience will help ensure that the agency benefits from an independent and objective voice, and continues to function efficiently and effectively.” Under Mazer’s leadership, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) hired talented personnel, conducted investigations of administrative and criminal violations, and issued meaningful audit and evaluation reports on FTC programs and activities, including recommendations designed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the FTC. During her tenure, the OIG also deepened its understanding of the FTC mission, engaged with the broader OIG community, and streamlined its business processes. While serving as the FTC Inspector General, Mazer also served on the Integrity Committee of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, the committee that investigates allegations of misconduct by Inspectors General and their direct reports. Before coming to the FTC, Mazer was the Inspector General of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and served as Special Investigative Counsel at the Department of Justice Office of Inspector General. “All of us at the Commission owe Roslyn Mazer a debt of gratitude for her outstanding work during her tenure as Inspector General,” Simons said. Katsaros joins the FTC from the Office of Inspector General at the U.S. Department of Commerce, where he served as Assistant Inspector General for the Office of Audit and Evaluation. Katsaros, a Certified Public Accountant, previously was Assistant Director for Audit and Review for the Executive Office for United States Attorneys at the Department of Justice. Before that, he held several positions at the U.S. Agency for International Development, including Director of Financial Audits, and he also worked in the Office of Inspector General at the Department of Defense. Katsaros is a graduate of Western Michigan University, a CPA, and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.