Democratic representative Nicole Collier of Fort Worth remained on House floor on Monday after refusing to sign ‘permission slip’ agreeing to round-the-clock surveillance
Good morning and welcome to the US politics live blog. My name is Matthew Pearce and I’ll be bringing you all the latest news over the next few hours.
We begin with news that Texas Democrats who ended a walkout found themselves shadowed by law enforcement officers to keep them from repeating the protest that stalled Republican efforts to redraw congressional districts and fulfil President Donald Trump’s desire to reshape U.S. House maps.
Donald Trump has ruled out a ceasefire in Ukraine as Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his European allies visited the White House to push for US-backed security guarantees as part of any long-term peace deal. The US president, who only last week warned Russia of “very severe consequences” if Vladimir Putin failed to agree to a halt to the fighting, made clear on Monday he had reversed his position. More here.
Missouri attorney general Andrew Bailey announced Monday that he will step down to become co-deputy director of the FBI. Bailey will share the role with deputy director Dan Bongino, as the FBI continues to draw headlines over the ongoing case tied to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Bailey said his last day in office will be 8 September. Missouri governor Mike Kehoe will announce his appointment for Bailey’s replacement on Tuesday.
Donald Trump on Monday announced that lawyers are drafting an executive order to eliminate mail-in voting, days after Vladimir Putin told him US elections were rigged because of postal ballots. In a White House meeting alongside Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Trump said: “We’re going to start with an executive order that’s being written right now by the best lawyers in the country to end mail in ballots because they’re corrupt.” More here.
The number of people eating at restaurants in Washington DC has plummeted since Donald Trump deployed federal troops to the city, according to data, as the president’s purported crackdown on crime continues. More here.
My father had Parkinson’s disease for many years. But in 2020, at the height of the pandemic, it got worse, fast.
He was suddenly adding extra zeros to checks, looking for the TV remote in the coat closet, and he got lost driving to the grocery store four blocks away. (That was the last time he drove.)
My way of coping with his sudden decline was to kick my organizational skills into overdrive. Though I’m a digital clutter coach by profession, it had never hit this close to home.
Here’s what I did that made an extremely difficult time easier for me and my family.
I got a clear picture of his assets and organized his documents digitally
I worked with him (as much as he was able) and my mom to gather all of the financial statements, wills, powers of attorney, insurance policies, health directives, medicines, and more.
I saved these files in Dropbox so that they could be accessed from anywhere and easily shared with others. (Another great option is Trustworthy, which has certified experts who can help gather all of these documents into one user-friendly hub.)
Taking it a step further, I shared those documents pre-emptively with his healthcare providers, banks, insurance companies, and more to ensure I could speak to them on his behalf.
The author organized her father’s documents digitally.
Courtesy of Amanda Jefferson
I used my phone as a scanner and a fax machine
When my dad ultimately passed in November of 2020, we found ourselves signing slews of documents and faxing dozens of death certificates.
My phone became a powerful tool that I could use on the go, whether I was at the funeral home, the bank, or my mom’s house.
I used my phone to scan documents directly into Dropbox, but one of the most surprising and helpful things was using it to fax.
I learned quickly that many banks and insurance companies do things “old school.” I sent faxes via a phone app called GeniusFax. It was super affordable and saved me the stress of running around town trying to track down a fax machine. (Hello, 1985.)
I saved his logins, and I kept his phone active
I stored all of my dad’s usernames, passwords, and answers to security questions (like, who was your first grade teacher) in 1Password so that I could access accounts on his behalf.
I created a tag called “Dad” so that I could easily find all items related to him amid my own passwords.
We also somehow had the foresight not to deactivate his phone right away. That was crucial when we needed to receive 2-step verification texts when logging into his accounts.
I used facial recognition to gather photos
I was tasked with making the video for his memorial service, so I asked family and friends to use the facial recognition feature on their phones and add their favorite photos of Dad to a shared photo album. This made it so easy to create a beautiful tribute video, and to this day, my mom still watches it.
I miss my dad’s goofy, dry humor, our peaceful canoe rides together, and his gentle spirit every day. But as strange as it sounds, learning how to use this technology made it easier to stay present, process my grief, and honor my dad. It made an incredibly difficult time just a little more bearable.
Benjamin Netanyahu has launched an extraordinary broadside against Anthony Albanese, labelling Australia’s prime minister “weak” in a social media post, hours after local Jewish groups called for calm in diplomatic relations.
“History will remember Albanese for what he is: A weak politician who betrayed Israel and abandoned Australia’s Jews,” read a post on X from the account of Israel’s prime minister, on Tuesday evening Australian time.
UK Drops Apple Backdoor Data Access Requirement, Reports 24brussels.
The United Kingdom will no longer require Apple to grant backdoor access to secure user data protected by the company’s iCloud encryption service, according to US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.
“Over the past few months, I’ve been working closely with our partners in the UK, alongside @POTUS and @VP, to ensure Americans’ private data remains private and our Constitutional rights and civil liberties are protected,” Gabbard posted to X on Monday. “As a result, the UK has agreed to drop its mandate for Apple to provide a ‘back door’ that would have enabled access to the protected encrypted data of American citizens and encroached on our civil liberties.”
This announcement follows the UK’s issuance of a secret order in January demanding Apple provide backdoor access to encrypted files uploaded by users worldwide. In response, Apple withdrew its Advanced Data Protection (ADP) encrypted iCloud storage offering from the UK and challenged the order, gaining the right to discuss the case publicly in April. Earlier this year, US officials began investigating whether the UK order violated the bilateral CLOUD Act agreement, which prohibits the UK and US from issuing demands for each other’s data.
Pressure from the US led to reports last month suggesting that the UK would retract its demands of Apple, with an unnamed UK official telling the Financial Times that the UK “had its back against the wall,” while searching for an exit strategy. While it remains uncertain if the UK will negotiate new terms with Apple that avoid implicating the data of US citizens, an unnamed US official indicated to the Financial Times that such negotiations would not adhere to the new agreement.
With the order now allegedly retracted, it remains unclear if Apple will reinstate access to its ADP service in the UK. Efforts to obtain a comment from Apple are ongoing. The UK Home Office has declined to comment on the situation.
Ukraine’s Shark reconnaissance drone can accidentally be jammed by soldiers trying to jam Russian drones.
Oleksandr Klymenko/REUTERS
Russia and Ukraine are desperately trying to stop each others’ drones using electronic warfare.
Soldiers sometimes accidentally jam their own sides’ drones if they’re on the same frequency.
There are so many drones that soldiers can be confused about which side they belong to.
With too many drones in the air and only so many radio frequencies, Ukrainian soldiers sometimes accidentally jam their own drones trying to stop Russian ones, Business Insider learned.
Dimko Zhluktenko, a drone operator with Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces who has operated strike and reconnaissance drones, told Business Insider that his unit was recently the victim of friendly electronic warfare, or just EW.
He said it’s something that often happens with the big reconnaissance drones that both sides use because many of Ukraine’s drones “use the same frequencies that enemy drones use.” That’s been the case, for instance, with Russia’s Zala recon and strikedrones and Ukraine’s Shark reconnaissance drones.
“When friendly EW tries to jam Zala, it also jams Shark,” he said.
Ukraine uses the Shark to identify targets that other Ukrainian weaponry can then destroy, including Russian artillery convoys, and Russia uses its Zala to identify Ukrainian targets and attack Ukrainian assets like tanks and artillery.
The Shark drone is developed by Ukrainian company Ukrspecsystems, and its newest version has a range of 260 miles, while the Zala is made by Russia’s Zala Aero.
The huge volume of drones used in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has resulted in an electronic warfare battle, with jamming and more flooding frequencies with noise, cutting connections, and confusing enemy drones, frustrating operators attempting to use them for strikes and surveillance. It’s fueled new developments in EW, as well as efforts to get around electronic warfare, such as fiber-optic drones and AI-enabled systems.
Zhluktenko said there are so many drones in the sky that Ukrainian soldiers have to try to coordinate when they fly drones, to try to avoid the accidental jamming of their own side’s drones.
In a single one-mile stretch of the front line, there might be more than 60 drones in the sky, he said.
A Ukrainian serviceman carries a reconnaissance drone during training near the city of Kostiantynivka in the Donetsk region on May 19, 2023.
REUTERS/Sofiia Gatilova
In his area, a roughly three-mile section, there might be around three large Russian reconnaissance drones in flight at any given time. There’s a lot of other stuff in the air though, and that can make it hard to tell what belongs to which side.
Zhluktenko previously told BI that it can be so difficult to tell the drones apart that infantry soldiers sometimes panic and jam everything with their electronic warfare systems. He said: “They literally click all of the frequencies to be jammed because they’re scared.”
Another Ukrainian drone operator, who previously spoke to BI on the condition of anonymity, said the confusion sometimes causes soldiers to try to shoot down every drone they see.
As Western militaries look to adopt small drones in new ways, concerns about battlefield confusion are a priority. Combat footage from Ukraine has shown troops frantically questioning if the drone buzzing overhead is on their side. With some dropping grenades or screaming out of the sky and exploding, soldiers may have only moments to sort that out.
Drone usage is higher in this war than in any other conflict in history. Among these systems are the more traditional large reconnaissance drones, emerging small strike drones, and drones with weaponry like firearms and grenades. These weapons are designed to attack and gather information on the enemy and guide other weapons and combat forces.
The prolific employment of drone technology has sparked an innovation race between Russia and Ukraine to create new types of drones and drone technologies. On both sides, domestic innovation and defense engineering are fueling developments, as is support from foreign partner nations.
The drone unit of the 108th Territorial Defense Brigade of the Ukrainian Army continues its combat training as heavy clashes continue on the Zaporizhzhia frontline in Ukraine on November 04, 2023.
Drones are something that Ukraine can make itself in large quantities, with efforts ranging from huge companies to small outfits in people’s garages. It’s a key part of Ukraine’s growing domestic defense industry, which also includes homegrown missiles, air defense systems, and ground robots.
Ukraine said it made 2.2 million drones last year, and it aims to make four million this year. But Russia also sees value in drones and is investing heavily in boosting output. It uses them at the front lines, as well as to complicate its strike packages when targeting Ukrainian cities, mixing one-way attack drones with missiles.
The huge volume of drones has led to some irregularities in battle, such as panic jamming. It’s also resulted in drone operators sometimes accidentally being able to see each other’s drone feeds, allowing them to unintentionally pick up intelligence about what enemy drones are doing and collecting.
There are just so many drones and only so many operating frequencies that drone feeds can get switched without them doing anything. Ukrainian and Russian troops are working through these issues in real time, and lessons learned from the fight may shape future wars.
Brussels – Work has commenced on the Heysel tunnel that will link Brussels Expo to Parking C. Approved in 2023, the tunnel currently serves fairs, but future permits may transform it into a public road, reports 24brussels.
As VRT News reported, construction began on a tunnel beneath the Romanesque Road at the Heysel plateau. This tunnel aims to connect the Heysel Palaces with Parking C and the Ring Road, a project that has been under discussion for over a decade.
Brussels Expo, which oversees the Palaces, initiated the project to facilitate truck access for loading and unloading during events. Additionally, shuttle buses could transport visitors between the Palaces and Parking C.
Future of the Heysel Tunnel: Public Road Possibility
The project now forms part of the extensive Neo redevelopment at the Heysel site. This large initiative, involving the City of Brussels and the Brussels Region, encompasses a shopping center, leisure facilities, residential areas, childcare services, and a retirement home.
Authorities emphasize that the tunnel is crucial for the accessibility of Neo without increasing traffic on local roads. They noted that planning approval for the Neo project hinges on this road connection, which has faced numerous delays due to political, legal, and funding complications.
Within the Flemish GRUP, the regional spatial plan for the Ring Road redevelopment, the connecting road is currently designated as a public road. This designation was fully ratified last year. According to Marin Struyf, spokesperson for De Werkvennootschap, the agency overseeing major works on the Ring, the situation is complex. The existing permit restricts the road’s use to logistics and shuttle buses during events at Brussels Expo.
Struyf elaborated that while the GRUP provides a framework, each element of the redevelopment requires its own processing. The areas at Parking C and Wemmel have not yet been addressed, meaning the plan allows for broader usage but does not guarantee it.
“Flanders also wants to make it a public road,”
says Kestemont.
“All Flemish and Brussels stakeholders now agree on the principle of openness.”
Officials indicate that if the road is to transition into a public route, new permits will be necessary. This conversion from an event-specific road to a public thoroughfare would demand fresh legal and environmental assessments.
Furthermore, Flanders plans to reconfigure the road system around Parking C as part of its Ring Road project, which entails relocating the existing on- and off-ramp 7A. Such changes will necessitate detailed planning, public consultation, and additional approvals.
Currently, the construction of the connecting road is proceeding under the existing permit, which restricts its operation to events at Brussels Expo. The future status of the link as a permanent public road depends on subsequent political decisions and the results of the broader reorganization of the Ring Road.
In 2015, Brussels Expo applied for a permit for the construction of a connecting road linking the Heysel Palaces to Parking C, allowing access to the Ring Road. Due to its crossing of two regions, both Brussels and Flanders had to grant approval.
The Brussels Region issued its permit in 2016, but the Flemish segment of the project faced years of delays. Objections in the Flemish jurisdiction, which encompasses the outer section of the Romeinensteenweg and Parking C, incited a prolonged legal conflict.
On June 26, 2023, the Flemish government granted approval, albeit with restrictions: the road could only be utilized during events at Brussels Expo to prevent additional traffic pressures in nearby Flemish municipalities.
Currently, the works are being conducted by Neo, the consortium managing the Heysel site’s redevelopment. A tunnel is being excavated beneath the Romanesque Road, with the Flemish section toward Parking C under development.
According to Neo lawyer Bernice Kestemont, construction is expected to continue until August 2026. Upon completion, the connecting road will accommodate visitors and trucks during events at Brussels Expo. The potential for the road to be opened for broader use will ultimately rely on future political discussions.
“Brussels Expo is currently practically the only user of the Heysel Plateau,”
The ongoing conflict between the UK government and Apple concerning encryption and privacy rights has intensified, as the company has formally challenged the Home Secretary’s authority to issue a controversial notice, reports 24brussels.
This dispute poses significant hurdles in the negotiations for a technology cooperation agreement between London and Washington. Last month, the Financial Times revealed that senior officials in Washington, led by Vice President JD Vance, have been pressuring the UK to resolve its legal battle with the tech giant.
The situation has also drawn attention from the U.S. State Department, which published its annual assessment of human rights records last month. In this report, the Department expressed concerns over UK government efforts that might “reduce or eliminate effective encryption (and therefore user privacy) on platforms,” mistakenly conflating the Online Safety Act with the Investigatory Powers Act.
