## 42 House Democrats Join GOP in Passing Warrantless Mass Surveillance Bill

Authored by truthout.org

Dozens of Democrats in the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives helped the GOP send a key spying bill to the Senate on Wednesday, earning sharp condemnation from the diverse movement that has called for privacy reforms.

The House voted 235-191 in favor of the bill released last week by Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.

However, 42 Democrats — including House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Ranking Member Jim Himes (Conn.) — still joined most House Republicans in advancing the legislation.

“It’s incredibly disappointing the House approved this measure,” said Jake Laperruque, deputy director of the Center for Democracy and Technology’s Security and Surveillance Project, in a statement.

A vote for this bill was a vote to give the FBI and other intelligence agencies a three-year blank check for surveillance abuse.”.

“The 42 Democratic votes to advance Speaker Johnson and Donald Trump’s surveillance agenda are dangerous and shameful,” she declared.

“This means continuing warrantless backdoor searches and allowing an increasing number of federal agencies to exploit the data broker loophole to supercharge AI and fuel mass domestic surveillance.”. »

### French teen charged in Singapore over a vending machine straw-licking video

Authored by apnews.com

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — A French teen is facing mischief and public nuisance charges in Singapore after posting a video on social media of himself licking a straw from an orange juice vending machine and then putting it back.

IJooz, the company operating the juice vending machine, filed a police report, and sanitized the dispenser while replacing all 500 straws in the machine.

Lawyers for the teen, who is studying in a French business school in Singapore, declined to comment on the case when contacted. »

### Trump says US will reduce number of troops in Germany ‘a lot further’ than withdrawal of 5,000

Authored by apnews.com

Earlier on Saturday, Germany’s defense minister appeared to take in stride the news that 5,000 U.S. troops would be leaving his country.

Trump’s decision comes as he seethes at European allies over their unwillingness to join his campaign with Israel against Iran.

(AP Photo/Petros Karadjias) Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez arrives for the EU Summit in Ayia Napa, Cyprus, Thursday, April 23, 2026. »

### US bypasses congress for military sales of $8.6 billion to Middle East

Authored by jpost.com

US President Donald Trump's administration has ​bypassed congressional review to approve military sales totaling over $8.6 billion to Middle Eastern allies Israel, Qatar, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates.

The State Department said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio determined that an emergency existed that required immediate sales to those countries and waived the congressional review requirements for the sales.

The announcements included approving military sales to Qatar of Patriot air and missile defense replenishment services costing $4.01 billion and of Advanced Precision Kill Weapon Systems (APKWS) costing $992.4 million. »

### Total War: Warhammer 40,000 Devs Reveal Huge Battle Maps, Planets, and Region Scale

Authored by ign.com

In a livestream, David Petry, battle product owner, and Kevin McDowell, art director on Total War: Warhammer 40,000, ran through the region scale and visuals of planets, before showing off new battle maps.

Creative Assembly shows off the scale of the Total War: Warhammer 40,000 battle maps.

As a Warhammer 40,000 fan, everything Creative Assembly has shown off so far about Total War: Warhammer 40,000 looks hugely promising. »

## In pictures

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