Free Republic

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday introduced a short bill that would extend key expiring provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act, a sign this extension could happen without any substantive talk about whether and how to reform these provisions. The bill from McConnell and Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) would extend sections of the PATRIOT Act through 2020 that allow access to business records and roving surveillance. The business records provision is found in the controversial Section 215 of the bill, which has been used to justify access to phone records.

WASHINGTON — Fourteen U.S. citizens have been charged with attempting to join al-Shabab, a Somali-based terrorist group linked to al-Qaida, law enforcement officials told NBC News. The charges were due to be formally announced at a news conference at noon ET at the Justice Department, NBC reported. The 14 people include 12 from Minnesota, one from Alabama and one from California, the officials said. Al-Shabab is Somalia's most-feared militant group. The group recently claimed responsibility for bombing two sites in Uganda where people were watching a soccer World Cup game on television, killing 76 people. Al-Shabab said the blasts were...