"Federal employees should be rewarded for what they can do, not for how long they’ve been on the job." Today, we @USOPM eliminated the historically anti-merit principle of gating promotions for top performing employees based upon their time in seat. No longer - merit prevails over tenure! usopm.substack.com/p/talent-…

Several folks have sent us views of this cool cloud. It's a pileus which is a smooth, cap-like cloud that forms above a rapidly growing thunderstorm when rising air cools and condenses into a thin layer of moisture. Yes, resembles a UFO.

It's getting harder to do data center deals, per @Ell_Schneider , who really needs to change her x handle semafor.com/article/10/13/20…

U.S. ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION HITS RECORD LOW AS DRINKING HABITS SHIFT Americans are drinking less alcohol than ever recorded, according to Gallup, despite the country becoming less religious. The biggest declines are among Catholics, nonreligious Americans and infrequent churchgoers — groups historically more likely to drink. Meanwhile, concerns about alcohol's health risks are rising across all religious groups. Gallup suggests changing health attitudes, rather than religion, may be driving the nationwide decline.