The June 20 directive to Medicare actuary Richard Foster came in an e-mail from the top aide to Thomas Scully, then the administrator for the health-care program. "Work up the numbers and share them with Tom Scully only. NO ONE ELSE" reads the message from Jeffery Flick, the last portion in bold-faced capital letters. A second warning, also in bold-face, follows in the same message: "The consequences for insubordination are extremely severe."

Nuclear weapons plants have eliminated or reduced training for guards responsible for repelling terrorist attacks, leaving the government unable to guarantee the plants can be adequately defended, the Energy Department's internal watchdog said Tuesday.