Patriot Act

Stories 1 - 20 |  Next >>

Trump: Mexico's Paying for That Wall, and Here's How

He'd cut off billions of dollars in transfers sent by immigrants to family in Mexico

(Newser) - Two former Mexican presidents have already said there's no way their country will ever pay for the "stupid" "f---ing wall" that Donald Trump insists he'll erect between the US and Mexico if he becomes president—which has led to lots of head-scratching over how exactly Trump...

Snowden: World Has Kicked Surveillance to the Curb

'This is the power of an informed public,' ex-NSA contractor writes in 'NYT'

(Newser) - Two years ago, Edward Snowden holed up in a Hong Kong hotel room to await reaction to his NSA revelations. Today, from somewhere in Moscow, he celebrates that anniversary by penning a New York Times op-ed that opines on privacy and surveillance in the wake of the expiration of key...

Feds Can Keep Snooping via 'Zombie Patriot Act'

Grandfather clauses, national security letters could serve as workarounds

(Newser) - Critical parts of the Patriot Act expired at midnight , but while the White House and security officials have warned that this lapse in surveillance could open the US up to terror attacks, others are saying there are workarounds that allow the US to still collect intelligence on possible terrorists and...

Patriot Act Spy Powers Expire
 Patriot Act Spy Powers Expire 

Patriot Act Spy Powers Expire

Fellow Republicans slam Rand Paul for blocking vote

(Newser) - A huge victory for Sen. Rand Paul, but at what cost? Key parts of the Patriot Act, including the NSA's bulk collection of phone records, expired at midnight after the Republican senator blocked plans to vote on an extension before the deadline, NBC News reports. He admitted that the...

Rand Paul: I'm Going to Let Patriot Act Expire

His move tomorrow means bulk collection of data will likely halt temporarily

(Newser) - It's all but guaranteed now: The NSA's authorization to collect telephone data on Americans is going to end tomorrow—at least for a few days. That became clear when Rand Paul told Politico that he will block an extension the Patriot Act as well as progress on a...

Surveillance Programs in Jeopardy After Senate Drama

After reform measure fails, Rand Paul blocks Patriot Act extensions

(Newser) - Things got dramatic in the wee hours last night in the Senate, the result being that the Patriot Act—and, specifically, the government's ability to collect bulk surveillance—is now "on life support," reports Politico . Once again, Rand Paul is at the center of things, with Paul...

Appeals Court: NSA's Phone Program Is Illegal

2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals rules the Patriot Act doesn't allow for it

(Newser) - The Patriot Act doesn't actually authorize the government's bulk collection of millions of Americans' telephone records, a federal appeals court ruled today. A three-judge panel of the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said a lower court, which had thrown out the case, had erred in...

CIA Spying on Overseas Money Transfers: Reports

Other methods of "bulk collection" likely still unknown

(Newser) - Think your international money transfer is free from prying eyes? Not so, according to the New York Times , which reports the CIA is secretly collecting info from companies like Western Union under the Patriot Act—the same law the NSA cites when nabbing phone records. It's possible the names...

NSA's Verizon Monitoring Has Gone on for 7 Years: Senators

It's 'nothing new,' and has been successful

(Newser) - The leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee today downplayed the revelation that the NSA is collecting millions of phone records from Verizon, Politico and CNN report:
  • "As far as I know, this is the exact three-month renewal of what has been in place for the past seven years,"
...

NSA Is Seizing Millions of Verizon Phone Records

White House defends 'ongoing, daily' surveillance as a 'critical tool'

(Newser) - A new report in the Guardian suggests the Obama administration isn't so different from its predecessor when it comes to domestic phone surveillance: The National Security Agency has been gathering the phone records of millions of US Verizon users thanks to a secret court order . The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance...

Phone Company Fights FBI Records Demand

Rare act of defiance sets up landmark-yet-secret legal case

(Newser) - Every year, the FBI sends phone companies thousands of "national security letters," secret demands for customer data, and companies almost always silently comply with them. But one company is doing something extraordinary: It's fighting the letter in court, arguing that the demand itself, and the gag order...

WikiLeaks Releases Thousands of New Docs

Feds ask web host for info on Assange

(Newser) - WikiLeaks is releasing tens of thousands of previously unpublished American diplomatic cables, and encouraging the public to look for nuggets of information in them using a searchable database . The cables, part of a cache of 250,000 leaked State Department reports WikiLeaks says it has, had previously only been released...

Obama (and His Autopen) Sign Patriot Act Extension

Congress passed four-year extension just hours before deadline

(Newser) - With just hours to go before the Patriot Act expired at midnight, Congress passed a four-year extension last night—but with President Obama in France, how to get it signed? With something called an autopen machine, apparently. The machine holds a pen and signs the president’s real signature, and...

Senator Wyden: The Real Patriot Act Is Classified

And he wants the government to make it public information

(Newser) - If you think the Patriot Act is invasive, you don’t know the half of it, Ron Wyden says—and he can’t tell you. In an interview with Wired , the Democratic Oregon senator reveals that the government is operating on a much broader interpretation of the law than it...

Patriot Act Set for 4-Year Extension

Reid, McConnell agree to renew domestic surveillance measures

(Newser) - With the Patriot Act's three central provisions set to expire in a week, Congressional leaders John Boehner, Harry Reid, and Mitch McConnell struck a deal to extend the law for four more years, Politico reports. Both chambers must pass the plan before it becomes law. The sections set to...

Patriot Act Gets 3 More Months
 Patriot Act Gets 3 More Months 

Patriot Act Gets 3 More Months

House agrees to Senate timeline, sends bill to White House

(Newser) - The House today voted 279-143 to approve a 90-day extension of three controversial Patriot Act provisions, sending the measure to President Obama for a surefire signature. The House had earlier approved a year-long extension , but today opted to instead mirror a shorter timeline passed by the Senate, Wired reports. The...

House Passes Patriot Act Extensions

Move to extend surveillance powers passes 275-144

(Newser) - The House of Representatives has voted 275-144 to extend three key provisions of the Patriot Act until the end of the year. The measures—which would keep in place surveillance powers including counterterrorism officials' ability to conduct roving wiretap surveillance of targets—were slammed as "intrusive" and "unconstitutional"...

House Rejects Extension of Patriot Act Provisions

Twenty-six Republicans buck party line

(Newser) - The House today failed to extend the life of three surveillance tools that are key to the Patriot Act. Republicans brought up the bill under a special expedited procedure requiring a two-thirds majority, and they fell seven votes short. Twenty-six Republicans voted against the measure, along with 122 Democrats. Supporters...

Mukasey: Now's No Time to Weaken Patriot Act
 Mukasey: Now's No Time
to Weaken Patriot Act
OPINION

Mukasey: Now's No Time to Weaken Patriot Act

Terror arrests show that national security needs trump privacy worries

(Newser) - The arrests last week of Najibullah Zazi and other terror suspects should make lawmakers think twice about making intelligence-gathering more difficult for those trying to keep America safe from terrorist attacks, writes Michael Mukasey. Congressional Democrats are considering imposing new requirements on Patriot Act provisions when they come up for...

Obama Supports Extending Patriot Act Provisions

Administration tells Congress it wants to renew surveillance laws

(Newser) - The Obama administration supports extending three controversial provisions of the Patriot Act that are due to expire at the end of the year,  AP reports. The Justice Department tells Congress in a letter they will back preserving the post-9/11 law's authority to access business records, monitor so-called "lone...

Stories 1 - 20 |  Next >>
Most Read on Newser