World, US, Culture, Market, and Sci-Tech News Aggregation from MSM and Independent News
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Tuesday morning, President Trump did a brief telephone interview with Joe Kernen of CNBC’s Squawk Box. The subject was Trump’s prognosis for how the negotiations would proceed.
President Trump doesn’t seem to have high hopes. He points out that even though the Iranian leadership has stated it would not attend the new round of negotiations in Islamabad, it is participating, so long as the U.S. continues to blockade Iranian ports. Trump did not back off (see VIDEO: USS Spruance Lights Up Iranian Blockade Runner in a Formidable Demonstration of FAFO – RedState) and yet here we are. He frames their attendance as being under duress, “[T]hey just got the okay to go forward, which I knew they were going to do anyway. I mean, I don’t think they had a choice. They have to negotiate.”
Trump lays out a stark choice for Iran: “And you know, the one thing I’ll say is this: Iran can get themselves in very good footing. If they make a deal, they can make themselves into a strong nation again, a wonderful nation again. They have incredible people, but they seem to be, you know, bloodthirsty. They’re led by some very, very unfortunately tough people. And I don’t mean tough in a good way. I think it’s very negative for the country because we’re much tougher than they are — like not even close. But they have to use reason and they have to use common sense, and they can get themselves into a great position to make themselves into a great country, but a legitimate country, not a country based on death and horror.”
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Former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley: The ship the U.S. seized in the Strait of Hormuz this weekend was headed from China to Iran and is linked to chemical shipments for missiles. It refused repeated orders to stop. Another reminder that China is helping prop up Iran’s regime—a reality that can’t be ignored (Haley).
Wall Street Journal: The Iranian cargo ship seized by U.S. forces in the Gulf of Oman this weekend is part of a fleet that often sails to China, one of Tehran’s most important backers—and includes vessels that have been accused of transporting chemicals for Iran’s ballistic-missile program. The ship, the MV Touska, visited the southern China port of Zhuhai twice in the six weeks before it was intercepted Sunday on its way to the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas, according to shipping analysts. The Touska ignored six hours of warnings from the USS Spruance, a guided-missile destroyer, according to the Pentagon
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An Iranian tanker called “Silly City” successfully reached the country’s waters despite a naval blockade and threats from a US Navy task force. According to reports from local media, the vessel reached a southern Iranian port overnight after passing through the Arabian Sea with full security and operational support from Iran’s navy.
“Despite numerous warnings and threats from the US Navy Fleet Group, the Iranian oil tanker Silly City, with the operational support of the Iranian Navy and in full safety, entered Iran’s territorial waters last night after crossing the Arabian Sea,” the Iranian military said in a statement on Tuesday.
Shipping industry intelligence site Lloyd’s List reported that more than 20 Iranian so-called “shadow vessels” had transited past the US blockade
The Strait of Hormuz in peacetime sees around 120 daily transits, according to the site.
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“Awesome,” Murphy said as he shared an article headlined “At least 26 Iranian shadow fleet vessels bypass US blockade.”
Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy is cheering for the United States to fail in Iran because he hates the president. “Awesome,” Murphy said as he shared an article headlined “At least 26 Iranian shadow fleet vessels bypass US blockade.”
“A Democrat Senator is now publicly rooting for Iran. Did ActBlue start accepting donations from the regime’s oil revenue?” Said Montana Senator Tim Sheehy.
“The Democrats are rooting for Iran—literally,” said commentator Batya Ungar-Sargon. “Senator Chris Murphy may be the most psychotic example of this, but he is the apotheosis of a vibe that is utterly pervasive in the anti-Trump Left and Right. Donald Trump has a super-power: He exposes the most despicable qualities in his opponents, revealing them to be utterly beneath contempt.”
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An Indiana school counselor who was fired after discussing the district’s policy regarding “gender identity” with a reporter was awarded a $195,000 payout as part of a lawsuit settlement.
Kathy McCord, who has been an educator for 37 years, was dismissed after the South Madison Community School Corporation unveiled the new policy in August 2021.
The policy said that counselors and other employees were required to use “names and pronouns for the student that do not correspond with his or her sex” upon request of that student, according to a Wednesday release from Alliance Defending Freedom.
The policy sometimes “required employees to hide the new names and pronouns from parents,” the legal advocacy group said.
🚨HUGE WIN: Indiana counselor Kathy McCord—FIRED for refusing to hide students’ gender identity from parents—just WON a $200K settlement.
The district is paying up. The policy is DEAD.
Parents—not the state—are in charge of their kids. 👏https://t.co/bcCVg0wdPA
— American Principles Project (@approject) April 16, 2026
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As the ceasefire between the United States and Iran winds down, heated words filled the air.
“Iran has Violated the Cease Fire numerous times!” President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social.
He did not provide details about the alleged infractions.
Meanwhile, Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, rebuked Trump for “imposing a siege and violating the ceasefire,” according to CNBC. He was referring to Trump’s blockade of Iranian ports.
He accused Trump of trying to turn peace talks into “a table of surrender or to justify renewed warmongering.”
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Disgraced former Democrat Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) is facing renewed scrutiny after campaign finance records revealed extensive spending on alcohol delivery services, luxury travel, and personal expenses funded by donors over multiple years.
According to reports citing Federal Election Commission data, Swalwell’s campaign made more than 100 separate purchases from alcohol delivery service Drizly between 2020 and 2024.
The purchases account for roughly a quarter of all such campaign-related spending nationwide during that period.
Campaign Funds Used for Alcohol, Travel, and Luxury Expenses
After Drizly ceased operations, records show Swalwell’s campaign continued similar spending patterns through Uber Eats, with more than 220 transactions totaling over $19,000.
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Democrats hope gerrymandering Virginia will give them the edge they need to win back the House. But Tuesday’s special election is proving more competitive than they’d like.
Tight polling and concerns over voter turnout in an atypical April election have many Democratic party strategists and officials preparing for a close finish.
“I always thought this campaign would be close [and] 24 hours out, I believe that to be the case,” Democratic strategist Jared Leopold said on Monday, before the final day of voting.
“Anytime you’re on the ‘yes’ side of a referendum, you’ve got the burden of proof,” he added. “It doesn’t matter what the referendum is, but anytime you’re arguing for ‘yes,’ the other side is going to be arguing for the status quo.”
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A majority of voters support the SAVE America Act and want Congress to pass it before the midterms in November, a March Harvard CAPS/Harris poll found. The majority of respondents also support other election integrity requirements, like counting ballots within 24 hours after Election Day, removing noncitizens from the voter rolls, and even allowing states to share voting records with the Department of Homeland Security.
The Harvard CAPS/Harris poll is conducted monthly. Last month’s survey, conducted March 25-26, included 2,009 respondents identified as “registered voters.”
Much of leftist media outlets’ coverage surrounding the SAVE America Act — which would require documentary proof of citizenship when registering to vote and voter ID in federal elections — fearmongers that the legislation would essentially disenfranchise voters en masse by enacting these common-sense safeguards. The recent Harvard/Harris poll suggests that Americans aren’t as worried about that as the corporate press would have you think.
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Biden-era FBI officials pressed forward with an investigation into Republican members of Congress after top prosecutors privately agreed central allegations lacked credibility, documents obtained by Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley show.
Based largely on claims made by then-Democratic New Jersey Rep. Mikie Sherrill, the FBI launched a probe in January 2021 to assess whether several Republican members assisted individuals or groups who organized the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, records reveal.
“Operation Rampart 12 is yet another example in which Republicans were unfairly targeted and secretly subjected to an invasive investigation by the Biden DOJ and FBI,” Grassley told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
“If not for my investigative work and brave whistleblowers, we wouldn’t know about FBI agents’ and DOJ prosecutors’ disgraceful efforts to try and destroy Republicans,” Grassley said. “My Democrat colleagues want to ignore these facts and evidence and defend the fired officials who participated in Biden’s lawfare. I’ll continue working to expose the widespread constitutional abuses that occurred under the Biden administration, because transparency brings accountability.”
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Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ) remains sidelined due to an undisclosed medical issue, extending a weeks-long absence that is tightening the margin for House Republicans at a critical moment.
According to reports, Kean has not cast a vote since early March and has now missed dozens of roll-call votes, with no clear timeline for his return.
Extended Absence Raises Questions
Kean’s office confirmed he will miss additional votes this week but has provided limited details about his condition.
A spokesman said the congressman is “expected to be totally fine” and will be “back to a full schedule soon,” but offered no further updates.
Kean has been absent from public view for more than a month, with no recent in-person appearances.
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Harvard law professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz is officially breaking with Democrats after more than six decades, saying the party he once backed has taken a turn he can’t support.
The longtime liberal announced he is registering as a Republican, pointing to what he described as growing “hostility” toward Israel and a broader ideological shift inside the Democratic Party.
Dershowitz made clear he’s not just switching labels; he plans to get involved in stopping Democrats from reclaiming power in Washington.
“I intend to work hard to prevent the Democrats from gaining control of the House… and Senate, and I urge those who share my concerns about the increasing influence of radicalisms in the Democratic Party to vote, campaign and contribute for continued Republican control of Congress.”
The prominent constitutional lawyer has spent years warning that Democrats are drifting too far left, especially on foreign policy and civil liberties.
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There appears to be an expulsion fever occurring in the House of Representatives. Republican Tony Gonzales (TX-23) and Democrat Eric Swalwell (CA-14) resigned their seats, rather than face this particular fate. Democrat Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (FL-20) and Republican Cory Mills (FL-07) remain bloodied, but unbowed.
Cherfilus-McCormick’s day of reckoning comes Tuesday. The House Ethics Commission has found her in violation of 25 charges and recommended sanctions. Republican Ana Paulina Luna (FL-13) plans to bring a resolution to the floor to have Cherfilus-McCormick expelled.
She will be expelled for corruption TOMORROW. Enjoy your last day in Congress Sheila! https://t.co/8odvhIGBAq
— Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (@RepLuna) April 20, 2026
Republican Rep. Nancy Mace (SC-01) has Republican Cory Mills (FL-03) in her sights, and she’s locked and loaded.
I filed a resolution to expel Cory Mills from Congress.
Last time, my resolution to censure him failed because he cut a deal with Ilhan Omar to save his own skin.
My new resolution outlines how Mills misrepresented his military service, sexual misconduct, campaign finance… pic.twitter.com/uUOppMK47g
— Nancy Mace (@NancyMace) April 20, 2026
I filed a resolution to expel Cory Mills from Congress.
Last time, my resolution to censure him failed because he cut a deal with Ilhan Omar to save his own skin.
My new resolution outlines how Mills misrepresented his military service, sexual misconduct, campaign finance violations and illicit involvement in federal contracts as a member of Congress, among other charges.
Swalwell is gone. Gonzales is gone. Mills is next.
We need to have the moral courage to do what’s right and expel him.
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Capitol Hill has never been a particularly ethical place, but complaints of wrongdoing on both sides of the aisle have led to a recent spike in efforts to remove sitting lawmakers.
One new development involves Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL), who is facing a House Ethics Committee decision as dozens of her fellow Democrats seem eager to join Republicans in voting to expel her.
While House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) only said the party will “follow the facts and apply the relevant law” when it comes to allegations that Cherfilus-McCormick laundered millions of COVID-relief dollars, other Democrats were more decisive.
As Axios reported:
“The charges and examination are incredibly, incredibly serious and I think we have to hold ourselves to high standards here in the Congress,” Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) told Axios.
- “We need to make sure we can tell the American people that they can trust in their lawmakers,” said Rep. Eric Sorensen (D-Ill.).
- Reps. Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.), Julie Johnson (D-Texas), John Larson (D-Conn.), Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) and Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas) all told Axios they expect to vote for expulsion if that is what the Ethics Committee recommends.
- “I’m going to take their recommendation very seriously,” said Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine).
- Rep. Johnny Olszewski (D-Md.) went one step further, telling Axios expulsion is “something we should take a look at seriously even if it’s not” what the committee recommends.
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The Trump administration has made it clear since its pullout from Minneapolis that the era of mass deportation is over and the administration will instead focus on criminal aliens. But sanctuary cities, which defend the worst of the criminal aliens, remain fully funded and undeterred well into Trump’s second term, with zero strategy to harness the news of endless heinous crimes committed in these fugitive jurisdictions.
How can it be that Republicans are planning one last party-line bill to fund ICE and aren’t even broaching the issue of sanctuary cities?
Just 15 months into this administration, the central campaign promise is dead.
According to the Federation for American Immigration Reform, there were over 300 sanctuary jurisdictions in 2016. In response to Trump’s rise to power and his threat to enforce our sovereignty, this number rose to 564 by 2018 — an increase of roughly 88% in the first two years of the Trump administration. As of last year, FAIR identified at least 1,003 by May 2025.
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Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed a bill making Virginia the latest participant in the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact last week, as the compact draws perilously close to upending our constitutional order. Every American who cherishes our republic should take notice.
For years, left-leaning pundits and politicians have campaigned to scrap the Electoral College, the method the founders gave us for choosing presidents. Their vehicle is the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. With Virginia’s recent entry, the compact now includes 19 jurisdictions (18 states plus the District of Columbia) controlling 222 electoral votes. That falls short of the 270 needed to trigger the scheme, but the trajectory is clear and troubling.
Virginia’s action carries special irony. This is the state of James Madison, the Father of the Constitution. Yet in April 2026 Virginia has joined an effort that effectively rewrites a core feature of the document Madison helped design.
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China controls 99 percent of the world’s primary gallium, a critical mineral and semiconductor crucial for building the microchips of the future. In 2023, it placed export controls on gallium to retaliate against American restrictions on the export of advanced chips to China. In December 2024, China escalated to an outright ban on gallium exports to the United States. The U.S. National Defense Stockpile had zero gallium reserves when that ban landed.
The United States has been here before. The United States pioneered and scaled modern silicon semiconductor infrastructure. A significant reliance on international manufacturing and the loss of domestic silicon dominance reflect a failure to recognize the importance of industrial capacity to national security. With silicon, the intellectual property was American, but the chips were “Made in Taiwan.” If similar blind spots persist, the United States risks repeating this failure with gallium nitride, a wide-bandgap semiconductor that outperforms silicon at high voltage, high frequency, and extreme temperatures. It’s the beating heart of every modern radar and electronic warfare system.
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I’ve never met Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, but I’ve voted for her twice: I live in her Tampa-area district. (Actually, she lives in my district — I’m pretty sure I got here first.)
She’s still in her second term, but already on the cusp of becoming a national figure. She’s gone one-on-one with Joe Rogan. On live TV, she corrected Bill Maher about her “Cuban” ethnicity (“We’re Mexican. We’re not all the same, Bill.”) Camera-shy, she ain’t.
If you could buy stock in a politician’s future, Rep. Luna’s stock value would be soaring.
And you don’t have to be a genius to figure out why. If Jay Leno’s quip is accurate — and politics is “show business for ugly people” — then Mrs. Luna is preposterously overqualified. Not too many of her colleagues could’ve modeled for Maxim Magazine. (Not even Rosa DeLauro.)
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WASHINGTON/CAIRO/ISLAMABAD, April 21 (Reuters) – The U.S. military said on Tuesday it had seized a tanker linked to Iran in international waters, its latest apparent action to enforce a blockade, with time running out on a ceasefire and the prospect of last-ditch further peace talks still up in the air.
Washington has expressed confidence that talks with Iran will go ahead in Pakistan, and a senior Iranian official said Tehran was considering joining. But with the final hours of a two-week truce ticking by, there was little time left for the talks.
The U.S. military said it had boarded the tanker Tifani “without incident”. The ship, capable of carrying 2 million barrels of crude, last reported its position on Tuesday morning as near Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean, according to MarineTraffic tracking data. It was close to fully loaded and had signaled Singapore as its destination.
“As we have made clear, we will pursue global maritime enforcement efforts to disrupt illicit networks and interdict sanctioned vessels providing material support to Iran — anywhere they operate,” U.S. Central Command said.
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A national free speech group is calling on the Catholic University of America to allow pro-Israel speakers on campus – or else face an accreditation complaint.
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression sent a second letter to CUA leadership on Friday, asking it to remove its restrictions on Students Supporting Israel.
The intervention follows a proposal earlier this year for the group to host Israeli homeland security expert Dany Tirza as well as Jewish Republican Rep. Randy Fine of Florida, as The College Fix previously reported.
The university is requiring the club to host a pro-Palestinian or anti-Israel speaker.
While the school says this is part of their policy, that is only supposed to apply when an invited speaker takes a view contrary to the Catholic Church, such as if a club invited a pro-abortion speaker. However, the university did not even apply this policy, allowing the campus Democrats club to host a speaker who supports abortion, according to Student Supporting Israel’s leadership.
The Catholic university in Washington, D.C. allowed an event with an anti-Israel speaker, for example, but did not present the pro-Israel side, FIRE also said.
“We again strongly urge CUA to approve SSI’s event requests and assure students that the university will not condition event approval on student’s willingness to arrange for and host speakers opposed to their own viewpoint,” Program Counsel Jessie Appleby wrote to President Peter Kilpatrick.
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Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) celebrated the news that 26 Iranian ships broke through the U.S. naval blockade in the Gulf of Oman.
Democrat Chris Murphy is getting slammed for replying “awesome” to the news that 26 Iranian shadow fleet vessels breached the U.S. naval blockade.
Murphy has been hammering the war effort. He’s argued the U.S. is spending “billions” to keep its navy there “to fecklessly fail,”… pic.twitter.com/ww96ij1SIE
— Fox News (@FoxNews) April 21, 2026
I haven’t found many reports about the fleet bypassing the naval blockade. I came across this:
Maritime tracking firm TankerTrackers.com reported that a Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) operated by the National Iranian Tanker Company departed Iran in late March 2026. The vessel then sailed towards Southeast Asia, where it reportedly transferred approximately 2 million barrels of crude oil to another supertanker.
Following the transfer, the tanker returned towards Iranian waters and is believed to have crossed what analysts describe as a US “siege line”, a monitored maritime enforcement zone linked to the ongoing blockade efforts.
According to Iran’s Fars News Agency, the vessel successfully re-entered Iranian-controlled waters and is expected to reach Kharg Island shortly. The report stated, “This tanker unloaded its 2 million barrels of crude oil and then returned home through the blockade line,” citing data from TankerTrackers.com.
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A tugboat tows a barge off the coast of Khasab, on northern Oman’s Musandam Peninsula near the Strait of Hormuz.GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty
Democrats should get louder in championing clean energy’s affordability and resilience from global shocks, according to some of the party’s leading voices on the climate.
As the Iran war roils economies by raising the cost of oil and gas, countries are aiming to accelerate their shift to cleaner energy. But in the US, Donald Trump has sought to kill off any alternative to fossil fuels while opposing Democrats have been reluctant to tie the conflict to any action on the climate crisis.
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As major artificial intelligence breakthroughs arrive on what seems to be a near-weekly basis, the race between the US and China continues to intensify. In this post and the next, we will examine the good and bad news for the prospects of American triumph in the battle for AI superiority, a skirmish that could well determine the future of global innovation.
Let’s start with the bad news.
Last week, I attended a hearing of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party entitled “China’s Campaign to Steal America’s AI Edge.” Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) opened the proceedings by asserting that “China’s smuggling of advanced AI chips is a pervasive threat facing law enforcement” and observing that “just last month, the Department of Justice announced a $2.5 billion chip smuggling case, which would be the largest export control violation in US history.”
Moolenaar then asked, “Why is China so desperate to acquire US-designed chips? The reason is obvious. AI is a truly transformative technology. It’s already changing how we fight wars, run our government, and operate companies.” Critically, the chairman contended, “it is essential for the United States to maintain a decisive lead in the AI race. We cannot afford a future where Beijing dominates this technology.”
At the hearing, Dmitri Alperovitch, the founder and chairman of the Silverado Policy Accelerator, echoed Moolenaar, arguing that “we are in a race, and the stakes could not be higher. Artificial intelligence will transform every industry, every battlefield, and every government.” Critically, Alperovitch asserted, “whoever fields the best models running on the best infrastructure will likely win not just the AI race itself but the 21st century. The single most important input to winning is compute—the processing power used to train and run AI models.”
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An Oklahoma couple and their pets got to safety in the nick of time on Friday when a possible tornado hit their community.
Shari and Dwain Short live in Ponca City, where video footage recorded outside their home shows the tense moments as the sky darkened and the wind whipped around their property, Fox Weather reported Saturday.
The clip shows Shari opening the door to what appears to be an underground storm shelter. The trees sway back and forth in the wind and the grey sky looks ominous as the couple prepares for the worst.
Moments later, Dwain is seen carrying a dog as he climbs into the shelter behind his wife. The second he tries to shut the door, the wind picks up. Dwain emerges from the shelter for a moment, then goes back inside as the storm hits.
Debris flies through the air, the camera shakes violently, and outside lights flash as gust after gust of wind hits their property and the surrounding community. A flash is seen in the sky seconds before the video ends:
In a social media post Sunday, Shari recalled how intensely frightening the experience was for them before acknowledging God’s hand in it.
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Donald Trump may be considering a deal to allow Iran to continue nuclear enrichment in 10 years(Image: Pool/ABACA/Shutterstock)
Donald Trump is reported to be weighing up an option allowing Iran to resume uranium enrichment in a decade.
The US president has offered shifting reasons for the war in Iran but has consistently said a primary objective is ensuring the country will “never have a nuclear weapon”.
Iran has 440.9kg of uranium that is enriched up to 60% purity, a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90%, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN’s nuclear watchdog agency.
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Hill Republican leaders are finding themselves in a never-ending crisis over the fate of a government spy law that has unleashed a bitter, intraparty battle within the House while also threatening to derail a host of other GOP priorities.
Republicans now have scant legislative days to build new plans to extend Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA. But President Donald Trump, GOP leaders and White House officials have failed to come up with a workable framework for months — and there is no agreement yet on the path forward.
Some House Republicans hope they’re in the final stages of massaging a multi-year extension that would incorporate some minor changes intended to pacify privacy hawks. Others are already predicting they’ll face the same internal schisms come April 30, when the current short-term extension runs out.