Short Takes – 11-11-23

Senate Leaders Plan to Prolong NSA Surveillance Using a Must-Pass Bill. Wired.com article. Pull quote: “Extending the program by attaching it to another bill that Congress can’t avoid is a risky political maneuver that will cause significant unrest among a majority of House lawmakers and a number of senators who are working to reform the 702 program. A top priority for privacy hawks is curtailing the ability of federal law enforcement to use 702 data “incidentally” collected on Americans. The 702 program collects communications from two sources: internet service providers and the companies that conduct traffic between them. The latter source is tapped less frequently but intercepts a greater quantity of domestic communications.”

Speaker Johnson moves on two-step stopgap to avoid shutdown. TheHill.com article. Pull quote: “The “laddered” continuing resolution (CR) released Saturday would have some funding run out on Jan. 19, and the rest of the funding on Feb. 2 — an approach intended to discourage negotiation of a whole-of-government omnibus funding bill and to encourage the House and Senate to negotiate on the 12 regular funding bills.” Draft language here.

House GOP cuts Speaker Johnson’s honeymoon short. TheHill.com article. Pull quote: ““Mike’s [Johnson] got a tough job. Got to pray for him this weekend. Man, that guy’s probably thinking what the hell did I do? What did I do?” Nehls said. “I don’t think the Lord Jesus himself could manage this group.””

Red Meat Allergy Caused by Tick Bite Is Spreading—And Nearly Half of Doctors Don’t Know about It. ScientificAmerican.com article. Pull quote: “Many health-care providers still don't know about alpha-gal syndrome at all. A 2022 cdc survey found that 42 percent of them had never heard of the condition, and more than a third of those who were aware of it were not confident in diagnosing or managing the allergy. If people with the syndrome consume animals or products containing alpha-gal sugar, they can suffer reactions ranging from diarrhea to hives to anaphylactic shock. There is no treatment, and many patients are forced to radically alter their diet for years—or for life.”