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Cost Estimating NewsBrief: March 6, 2026
Congress searches for shutdown off-ramp as DHS employees start missing pay
(Government Executive) Republicans are renewing their push to fully fund and reopen the Homeland Security Department, suggesting the war the United States launched against Iran over the weekend has heightened the need to end the single-agency shutdown that entered its third week on Monday. House Republicans will bring up another vote on a DHS appropriations bill this week, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., announced, saying it was dangerous for Democrats to continue holding up the funding due to concerns over the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement crackdown. The legislation would “end the DHS shutdown so we can ensure agencies can protect America during this dangerous time,” Scalise said, noting the FBI has warned of an elevated threat of terrorist activity domestically. Read More
California High-Speed Rail Cost Estimate Reduced by $1.7 Billion
(Railway-News) The California High-Speed Rail Authority has released its Draft 2026 Business Plan for a 60-day public review and comment period, setting out updated cost projections and delivery proposals for the state’s high-speed rail programme. The estimated cost of delivering Phase 1 of the system, linking San Francisco with Los Angeles and Anaheim, has fallen by 1.7 billion USD. The reduction is attributed to streamlining measures intended to accelerate construction and manage expenditure. The draft plan outlines proposals to complete the initial operating segment between Merced and Bakersfield, before extending services to larger population centres to generate operating revenue. It also refers to potential private financing, legislative changes and partnerships designed to support long-term funding. Read More
Secret Service begins recruiting for AI working group modeled after DHS AI Corps
(FedScoop) The Secret Service is gearing up to launch what CIO and Chief AI Officer Chris Kraft is calling a new AI Program, which will act as a working group that comes in and helps IT teams. “We can take AI experts and have them work on a challenging need in one area, and then they can come back and other groups go work on other efforts,” Kraft told FedScoop at Secret Service headquarters Wednesday in Washington, D.C. The group will consist of 10 members initially, according to Kraft, and will also be tasked with identifying areas of opportunity to implement AI and other emerging technologies. Read More
The total lunar eclipse 2026 dazzles in incredible photos from around the world
(Space.com) The March 3 total lunar eclipse has been and gone, astounding skywatchers around the world with a breathtaking display of orbital mechanics as the lunar disk plunged into Earth’s umbral shadow, transforming it into a crimson-hued blood moon. A total lunar eclipse occurs as Earth passes between the moon and the sun during a full moon phase. No direct sunlight can reach the lunar surface during totality, as the lunar disk passes through the deepest part of our planet’s shadow, known as its umbra. Instead, the moon is doused in sunlight that has been filtered by Earth’s atmosphere — which is adept at scattering blue light while allowing longer redder wavelengths to pass relatively unhindered — causing it to turn a rusty, blood red color. Read More
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