New York Times

A yearslong debate over National Security Agency surveillance and protections for Americans’ privacy rights will reach a climactic moment on Jan 11 as the House of Representatives takes up legislation to extend a program of warrantless spying on internet and phone networks that traces back to the Sept.

President Donald Trump repeated a pledge to change the nation’s libel laws in a way that would make it easier for people to sue news organizations and publishers for defamation, another salvo from a president who has expressed hostility toward longstanding press freedoms. “We are going to take a strong look at our country’s libel laws, so that when somebody says something that is false and defamatory about someone, that person will have meaningful recourse in our courts,” President Trump said. Expanding on the theme, he added, “Our current libel laws are a sham and a disgrace and do not rep

Stephen K. Bannon is stepping down from his post as executive chairman of Breitbart News. Bannon’s departure, which was forced by a onetime financial patron, Rebekah Mercer, comes as Bannon remained unable to quell the furor over remarks attributed to him in a new book in which he questions President Donald Trump’s mental fitness and disparages his elder son, Donald Trump Jr. Bannon and Breitbart will work together on a smooth transition, a statement from the company’s chief executive, Larry Solov, said.