The USA Freedom Act, passed in the House earlier this month by a 338–88 vote, and backed by the Obama administration, would reauthorize surveillance powers under the Patriot Act while ending a National Security Agency phone data collection program recently ruled illegal by a federal appeals court. While the bill enjoyed wide, bipartisan support in the House, two Senate factions opposed the legislation. It failed to proceed in a 57–42 vote. When the White House declined to submit a reauthorization request for the controversial program, the NSA began winding it down.

The question for lawmakers now: What happens next?

Without the 60 votes needed to advance in the Senate, failure to pass USA Freedom will cause crucial parts of the Patriot Act to expire after May 31. One of these provisions, Section 215, served as the secret legal justification by the NSA to eavesdrop on American citizens. While libertarian-minded senators like Rand Paul view the sunset of the Patriot Act as a great victory for privacy rights and a necessary blow against the surveillance state, security hawks like Majority Leader Mitch McConnell see an unacceptable weakening of vital law enforcement tools.

Between these two perspectives lies the coalition backing USA Freedom. Rep. Adam Schiff, ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, told BuzzFeed News that USA Freedom was the product of a hard, negotiated compromise, drawing on a broad sector of support. He believes that any legislation proposed by the Senate that would undermine the privacy protections of USA Freedom will likely be rejected by the House.

Some lawmakers, like Sen. Ron Wyden, would like to see a more comprehensive review of the government’s surveillance power but still support passage of USA Freedom. “If we were to end mass surveillance under the Patriot Act, that would be a worthwhile step even if it doesn’t go nearly far enough,” Keith Chu, a spokesperson for Sen. Wyden, told BuzzFeed News.

Rep. Ted Lieu, one of the 88 representatives in the House who voted against USA Freedom, takes a more skeptical position. “The bottom line is that Section 215 has been used by the NSA and other federal agencies for years as the basis for open-ended programs that have violated the constitutional rights of Americans and jeopardized the public’s trust in our government,” he told BuzzFeed News.

Rep. Lieu acknowledged the merits of USA Freedom, but he cited overly broad data collection and concerns of information being retained that isn’t relevant to criminal investigations as issues with the bill. “We can’t truly curtail the government’s expansive surveillance programs without comprehensive reform that addresses a number of statues, but that may first require opposing inadequate proposals and allowing the Patriot Act provisions to expire completely,” he told BuzzFeed News.

Privacy advocates have argued that USA Freedom’s attempts to limit government abuse are too modest, pointing to a Justice Department report released last weekthat “did not identify any major case developments that resulted from use of the records obtained in response to Section 215 orders.” Bolstered too by the appeals court opinion, critics maintain that the dragnet surveillance apparatus spawned by the Patriot Act is both ineffective and illegal.

In addition to USA Freedom being reconsidered by the Senate on Sunday, Majority Leader McConnell is expected to introduce short-term extensions of the Patriot Act. But just as these proposals were blocked last week, last-minute efforts for a clean reauthorization of surveillance powers are expected to be stonewalled come Sunday.

Complicating matters further, even if a Senate extension or some altered version of USA Freedom is allowed to proceed, the House doesn’t return from Memorial Day recess until June 1, meaning the provisions would necessarily expire. The only workable solution to prevent the expiration of these measures would be for the Senate to pass USA Freedom.

Roberts, who has been interviewed at least three times by the F.B.I. this year, is under investigation for allegedly hacking into the electronic entertainment systems of airplanes, according to an application for a search warrant to probe seized electronic equipment.

The document shows F.B.I. agents investigating Roberts believe he has the ability to do what he claims: take over flight control systems by hacking the inflight entertainment computer.

Roberts has not yet been charged with any crime. The allegations contained in the search warrant application have not been proven in court.

Roberts is the founder of One World Labs and he is widely viewed as an expert on counter threat cyber security.

F.B.I. agents obtained the search warrant on April 17 to probe a number of electronic items seized from Roberts after he arrived in Syracuse, NY, from Chicago on April 15. Roberts had posted a joke tweet earlier in the day while on a United Airlines flight between Denver and Chicago. The tweet referred to hacking into the airplane’s in-flight entertainment and passenger oxygen mask system.

During two interviews with F.B.I. agents in February and March of this year, Roberts said he hacked the inflight entertainment systems of Boeing and Airbus aircraft, during flights, about 15 to 20 times between 2011 and 2014. In one instance, Roberts told the federal agents he hacked into an airplane’s thrust management computer and momentarily took control of an engine, according to an affidavit attached to the application for a search warrant.

“He stated that he successfully commanded the system he had accessed to issue the ‘CLB’ or climb command. He stated that he thereby caused one of the airplane engines to climb resulting in a lateral or sideways movement of the plane during one of these flights,” said the affidavit, signed by F.B.I. agent Mike Hurley.

Roberts also told the agents he hacked into airplane networks and was able “to monitor traffic from the cockpit system.”

According to the search warrant application, Roberts said he hacked into the systems by accessing the in-flight entertainment system using his laptop and an Ethernet cable.

F.B.I. agents let Roberts go after they seized his equipment and questioned him in Syracuse. The agents then tracked the Denver to Chicago airplane Roberts took before connecting to Syracuse. Roberts sat in seat A3 on the Chicago flight. The airplane was traced to Philadelphia and F.B.I. agents discovered the boxes in seats A2 and A3 showed evidence of tampering, according to the warrant application document.

The document stated the box under A2 was “damaged” with the outer cover “open approximately” half and inch and “one of the retaining screws was not seated and was exposed.”

Roberts was blocked from boarding a United Airlines flight he had booked to fly him out of Syracuse, Wired magazine has reported.

The F.B.I. said it seized Roberts’ electronic equipment in the interest of public safety because they believe he has the ability to take control of airplane systems.

“We believe Roberts had the ability and the willingness to use the equipment then with him to access or attempt to access the (inflight entertainment system) and possibly the flight control systems on any aircraft equipped with an (inflight entertainment system) and it would endanger the public safety to allow him to leave the Syracuse airport that evening with that equipment,” sates the warrant application.

The items seized from Roberts include a black iPad with a “Death Wish Coffee Co.” sticker, a silver MacBook Pro with “multiple” stickers, three hard drives, six thumb drives and two USB cables.

Shortly after the incident with Roberts, Wired reported that the TSA and the F.B.I. issued a bulletin to airlines to be on the lookout for passengers showing signs they may be trying to hack into an airplane’s Wi-Fi or inflight entertainment system. Wired also reported that the U.S. Government Accountability Office issued a report warning that electronic systems on some planes may be vulnerable to hacking.

Roberts told the F.B.I. that he has discovered vulnerabilities in the inflight entertainment systems of Boeing 737-800, 737-900 and 757-200 aircraft along with Airbus A-320s.

Air Canada flies Airbus A-320 aircraft and WestJet flies Boeing 737-800 aircraft, according to the airlines’ websites.

According to Wired, Roberts has been issuing warnings about vulnerabilities in inflight entertainment systems for years.

The chopper, which was part of the Marine Light Attack Helicopter squadron based at Camp Pendleton, California, was carrying six U.S. Marines and two Nepali soldiers when it crashed.
It was said to have been last seen in the mountainous region after another helicopter in the area picked up radio chatter about a fuel problem.

There were six U.S. marines and two Nepali soldiers on board.

The families of two marines told media outlets on Friday that they were informed by the Marines that their sons were on board the missing helicopter.
Capt. Chris Norgren, a 31-year-old Wichita native, was reportedly the pilot of the helicopter, his father, Ron Norgren, told The Wichita Eagle. Ron Norgren said that Marine Corps representatives informed him on Tuesday that his son was missing. He said Chris sent his mother flowers for Mother’s Day while he was in Nepal.

“I told him I was very proud of him, that he’s over in Nepal helping people out and that he still remembered Mother’s Day,” Ron told The Wichita Eagle. “He texted me back and thanked me for the compliment, and that was about it.”

The family of Marine Lance Cpl. Jacob “Jake” Hug of Phoenix told AZCentral.com that their son was part of the crew on the missing helicopter. They said that the Marines have been in touch with them since the craft disappeared in Nepal.

Hug turned 22 on May 6 while he was on temporary assignment in Nepal. His father, Jim Hug, told AZCentral.com that the helicopter reported an issue with the fuel line before it disappeared.

Amid the buildings seized by the militants was the police headquarters for Anbar province, as well as the government centre, AFP reported.

The battle between ISIS militants and Iraqi forces started on Thursday, with ISIS’ infamous black flag waving over a number of government buildings by Friday afternoon, according to reports.

The militants are said to have used car bombs and mortars in their raid of the government compound, killing an estimated 10 local police officers while taking some 50 others hostage. Officials now fear the men could be executed.

“We’ve said before that there will be good days and bad days in Iraq,” Rathe told reporters. “ISIL’s trying to make today a bad day in Ramadi.”


“We’ve said all along we see this as a long-term fight in conjunction with our Iraqi partners against ISIL. We are confident that Iraqi forces with support from the coalition will continue to push back ISIL where they’ve tried to gain advantages on the ground. So our policy and our engagement remains the same,” he said.

This latest assault on Ramadi came a day after the militant group released an audio recording by its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, denouncing reports by Iraqi and U.S. government officials that Baghdadi was incapacitated by an injury suffered during battle.

Gun battles between government forces and ISIS militants were reported throughout the city on Saturday, as both sides vie for control of Anbar province’s capital.

Ramadi is seen as a strategic location by both sides due to its size and proximity to the country’s capital, Baghdad.

In a phone conversation with Iraq’s prime minister Haidar al-Abadi, U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden said Washington would provide additional military weaponry and supplies to Iraqi forces struggling to contain the ISIS offensive.

At the direction of President Obama, U.S. forces based in Iraq carried out a mission in al-Amr to capture Abu Sayyaf and his wife Umm Sayyaf, the Pentagon said.

The senior ISIS leader was killed when he “engaged” the American troops, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said in a statement. No American troops were harmed during the operation.

“Abu Sayyaf was involved in ISIL’s military operations and helped direct the terrorist organization’s illicit oil, gas, and financial operations as well,” Carter said.

During the raid, U.S. forces captured Umm Sayyaf, whom officials suspect to be an ISIS member. She is currently in U.S. military detention, according to National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan.

“[She] played an important role in ISIL’s terrorist activities, and may have been complicit in what appears to have been the enslavement of a young Yezidi woman rescued last night,” Carter said, using an alternative acronym for the terrorist group.

Yazidis are an ethnic and religious minority in Iraq who have been killed and abducted by fanatic ISIS militants.

Meehan said efforts are underway to reunite the abducted Yazidi woman with her family.

She added that the terms of Umm Sayyaf’s detention are still being determined. “We are working to determine an ultimate disposition for the detainee that best supports the national security of the United States and of our allies and partners, consistent with domestic and international law,” Meehan said, adding that the Red Cross would have access to the detained woman.

Meehan said Iraqi authorities were aware of the operation, but gave no mention of whether Syrian officials were informed. However, she equated the raid with ongoing U.S.-led airstrikes against ISIS targets in Syria, which Damascus authorities are not informed of. She described both the airstrikes and raid as “consistent with domestic and international law.”

“The President authorized this operation upon the unanimous recommendation of his national security team and as soon as we had developed sufficient intelligence and were confident the mission could be carried out successfully and consistent with the requirements for undertaking such operations,” Meehan said.

The Pentagon chief praised the raid as having dealt a “significant blow” to ISIS. “It is a reminder that the United States will never waver in denying safe haven to terrorists who threaten our citizens, and those of our friends and allies,” Carter said.