By Gram Slattery WASHINGTON Residents of Florida were largely spared a devastating blow from Hurricane Idalia this week,

As it pushes to renew a cornerstone law that authorizes major surveillance programs, the Biden administration faces an American public that's broadly skeptical of common intelligence practices and of the need to sacrifice civil liberties for security. Congress in the coming months will debate whether to extend Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Section 702 authorizes U.S. spy agencies to collect large amounts of foreign communications for intelligence purposes ranging from stopping spies to listening in on allies and foes. Those collection programs also sweep up U.S. citizen communications that can then be searched by intelligence and law enforcement officers. The new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that Democrats and Republicans have similar views on surveillance tactics, while Republicans have become substantially less likely over the last decade to say it's at least sometimes necessary to sacrifice freedom in response to threats. U.S. intelligence officials say Section 702 is necessary to protect national security and to counter China, Russia and other adversaries. They credit the program with better informing U.S. diplomats and enabling operations like last year's strike to kill a key plotter of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. But officials will have to overcome sharp divisions in Congress and bipartisan anger at the FBI, though most observers still believe Section 702 will be renewed in some form. Driving a political shift is increasing skepticism among Republican elected officials of the FBI and intelligence agencies. Conservatives have battered the FBI for misleading the primary surveillance court in its investigation into former President Donald Trump campaign’s ties to Russia. Trump and other top Republicans often accuse the so-called government “deep state” of using its powers to target conservatives. Historically, “the left flank has been the more vocal objector to government surveillance on privacy and civil liberties grounds,” said Carter Burwell, who was chief counsel to Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, when the law was last renewed in early 2018. ”Over the past five or 10 years, with the rise of the libertarian wing of the Republican Party, call it the antigovernment wing of the Republican Party, that is an equally vocal and powerful plurality," said Burwell, now a lawyer at the firm Debevoise & Plimpton. The poll asked U.S. adults whether they support several practices authorized by Section 702. It found that 28% of adults support the government listening to phone calls made outside of the U.S. without a warrant, while 44% oppose the practice. Views are similar about the U.S. reading emails sent between people outside of the U.S. without a warrant. The public was more receptive to surveillance of activity outside of the U.S. a decade after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. That shifted significantly by the 20th anniversary of the attacks in 2021. In the latest poll, 48% of Americans this year said they believed it necessary to sacrifice their rights and freedoms to prevent terrorism, down from 54% in 2021 and nearly two-thirds in 2011. That shift was especially dramatic among Republicans, with just 44% saying that's sometimes necessary compared with 69% in 2011. Among Democrats, 55% still say so, similar to the 59% who said so in 2011. Sarah Apwisch, a 57-year-old from Three Rivers, Michigan, described herself as somewhat opposed to the monitoring of foreign emails and phone calls. A Democrat, Apwisch said she was “mostly pro-FBI” but concerned after years of negative stories about the bureau. “Honestly, I don’t want to hear anything about the FBI,” she said. “I want the FBI to go do their business and not be in the news because they’re doing their job well and not doing things that make waves. How they do that, I don’t know.” Apwisch also said she supports the FBI and other agencies trying to hunt down enemy spies, but was uncertain about whether the FBI should also use foreign intelligence to investigate other U.S. crimes. White adults were somewhat more likely to say they were opposed to various forms of surveillance — 48% said they opposed the government listening to foreign calls without a warrant — than Black or Hispanic adults, each at 34%. Rob Redding, a 47-year-old journalist who lives in New York City, said he was neutral about many surveillance practices — but said he felt that way because as a Black man, he didn't expect to have privacy. Redding mentioned the FBI's spying in the 1960s on Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights leaders as well as officials in Black nationalist movements. “As a Black man in America, as someone who speaks out about the government all the time, I understand that Black people and especially Black leadership cannot trust America," Redding said. In Congress, some Democrats and Republicans have found common cause over their complaints about Section 702. Two lawmakers earlier this year issued a statement calling for an end to U.S. surveillance without a warrant. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., chairs the liberal Congressional Progressive Caucus, while Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, is a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus. “We must take this opportunity to reform Section 702 and overhaul privacy protections for Americans so that they truly protect the civil rights, civil liberties, and privacy rights that are foundational to our democracy,” Jayapal and Davidson said. Previous lawmaker efforts to require warrants for searching intelligence databases have failed. Intelligence officials argue they have ramped up training for agents searching the databases and tightened requirements to consult with lawyers on sensitive queries. Supporters of Section 702 argue most U.S. adults want the government to stop foreign adversaries even if they state misgivings about how American intelligence operates. Glenn Gerstell, a former general counsel at the National Security Agency who is advocating for Section 702 to be extended, noted that while Congress has to be responsive to public opinion, “some of this gets pretty technical and isn’t easily understood by the public.” He said he still believed the law would be renewed with some amendments to bolster civil liberties protections and enshrine into law changes that the FBI has made in response to a series of wrongful uses of foreign intelligence. “At the end of the day, I think most members of Congress understand the value of the statute and understand that when we don’t have the statute, there is no substitute,” Gerstell said. ___ Associated Press writer Emily Swanson contributed to this report. ___ The poll of 1,081 adults was conducted March 16-20 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.0 percentage points. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Haitians are dying of thirst and starvation in severely overcrowded jails As winter warms, farmers in southern US find ways to adapt Smoky haze blanketing US, Canada could last for days as wildfires rage, winds won't budge

American Solheim Cup player Angel Yin shot a 7-under 65 to move into a share of the third-round lead at the LPGA Shanghai tournament

Leandro's mother Drena previously claimed on social media that someone sold her son fentanyl-laced pills

When you’re living your life constantly online, it’s no surprise that streamers occasionally make mistakes for all to see. Streamers have become some of the most watched people on the planet over recent times, with millions tuning in to consume content on platforms like Kick and Twitch. Inevitably, mistakes – deliberate or not – are made and scandals emerge, with platforms quick to clamp down on anything that infringes on their rules. These are the biggest scandals in streaming history, from content violations to the most unfortunate slip ups imaginable. iShowSpeed The most recent - and arguably most unfortunate - scandal involves iShowSpeed. The 18-year-old accidentally exposed himself to thousands of fans while live streaming to 24,000 fans. He inadvertently flashed the camera, explaining that it all happened because he didn't have any clean underwear and had to go commando on the day. He escaped being banned by YouTube, thankfully, but he’s been subjected to trolling by fans in the days since with people (including his father, no less) constantly calling him "IShowMeat" online. "These past days and hours, I've been suffering very mentally, genuinely," iShowSpeed told viewers recently, honestly discussing his feelings since the incident. "At the end of the day, I'm still a human being." He said it was "one of the worst fears" that has happened and that it's "just depressing." "You guys are joking, you guys can crack your jokes – but you're genuinely not looking at the bigger picture," he said. "Do you all know I have family, little siblings?" "I don't know what to do anymore, bro," Speed added. Twitch streamer banned for running over dog A Twitch streamer was banned from the platform for appearing to run over a dog after getting distracted by her phone while driving her car in a bizarre case earlier this year. On February 17th, Polish streamer 'sidneuke' was streaming from her car and chatting to her followers when she briefly glanced down at her phone. In those few seconds the car appears to hit something and a small yelp can be heard. A distressed 'sidneuke' then stops the car and gets out to check whatever she hit was ok. Shortly after the ban 'sidneuke' received a ban from Twitch. Her account read at the time: "This channel is currently unavailable due to a violation of Twitch’s Community Guidelines or Terms of Service." It is not clear if the ban is permanent or not. It was not clear why 'sidneuke' was hit with a ban but it has been suggested that it was for using her phone while she was driving, which has happened to other streamers on the platform. Twitch streamer banned for 'sexual content' while playing fishing simulator A Twitch live streamer was banned due to “sexual content” in 2022 while streaming a fishing game and hit out at the platform as a result. Streamer Sara "ih3artpew" Heart criticised the app, owned by Amazon, for the indefinite ban which came just minutes into a stream. Heart claims the Amazon-owned site banned her for “sexual content” but insists there was nothing sexual about the stream. The incident occurred on 22 August last year when Heart went live online playing the game, Ultimate Fishing. Woman banned for having sex while live on a Twitch stream A popular Twitch streamer was banished from the platform for sexual content in 2022, marking one of the most blatant violations of streaming rules. Kimmikka was banned for having live sex during one of her broadcasts. While the footage didn't explicitly show anything explicit, the window reflection gave it away. The pair were drinking alcohol while the camera focused primarily on her face. Her facial expressions soon started to change, creating suspicions in the comments. Her partner's face can also be seen in the background at one point, while the streamer tried to keep things discreet by continuing to respond to viewers. Twitch streamer banned for humping Garfield toy Viral Canadian Twitch streamer and YouTuber Ricky Berwick was banned from the platform after he “humped” his stuffed Garfield toy. Surprisingly, though, he said he had no regrets. Berwick is known on social media to create comedic skits, but things went a little too far during the broadcast earlier this year. On 4 January, StreamerBans shared a tweet, relaying the news that Twitch banned Berwick. Fortunately, the creator didn’t waste any time revealing what went down and how long the platform said his punishment would carry on. In a post on his official Twitter, Berwick shared a screenshot of an email Twitch sent him about getting a “Community guidelines strike” concerning “sexually explicit content”. “My Twitch is disabled like me,” Berwick captioned the tweet. And in another tweet, he said he got the suspension because he decided to get a bit frisky with his Garfield stuffed animal. “It's only a 7 day ban. I humped my Garfield plush (clothed) for 20 subs.Worth ittt,” Berwick added. Streamer banned after recording himself receiving oral sex Twitch streamer Heelmike was banished from rival platform Kick for a single day after recording himself receiving oral sex. The crude footage showed Heelmike recording himself while a woman performed the sex act. He took to social media following the act, admitting he was "over the top". "One day ban on Kick after averaging 15K views and honestly I got lost in the sauce and was over the top," he admitted. "I’ll be back with the energy, but not being disrespectful." Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

The global economy, which has proved surprisingly resilient this year, is expected to falter next year under the strain of wars, still-elevated inflation and continued high interest rates

Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys expected to see old nemesis Aaron Rodgers with the New York Jets in their home opener

(Reuters) -Binance and its CEO Changpeng Zhao have filed a motion to dismiss a complaint against the cryptocurrency exchange by

Anthony Santander and Cedric Mullins homered, and the Baltimore Orioles maintained their two-game lead in the AL East by beating José Berríos and the Toronto Blue Jays 5-3

There's only one iPhone that truly falls into the budget category: the iPhone SE. While

Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman won the Nobel Medicine Prize on Monday for work on messenger RNA (mRNA) technology that paved the...

The Kremlin said on Wednesday that Poland's decision to rename the Russian city of Kaliningrad in its official