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As REAL ID rollout approaches, congressional privacy hawks largely silent on concerns
With President Donald Trump back in the White House and the final rollout of federal REAL ID requirements set to take effect in May, many of the loudest privacy advocates in Washington have been largely silent.
While privacy-minded lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have spent years blasting the Patriot Act, among other measures, few are raising alarms over the Trump administration’s looming implementation of the REAL ID Act — a law passed in 2005 that critics describe as a national identification system.
Some of the privacy-hawk lawmakers remaining silent on REAL ID were very vocal when another expansion of the national security surveillance apparatus came about – the Patriot Act of 2001 – but not so when the U.S. is only days away from REAL ID implementation.
Sens. Edward Markey, D-Mass., Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., were all in Congress when the Patriot Act faced ultimately-successful renewal in 2010s and when the 2020 bill amending and reauthorizing the related Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court came up for a vote.
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REAL ID is going into effect soon. (Getty)
«Congress has a duty to safeguard Americans’ privacy, but the USA Freedom Reauthorization Act fails to adequately limit the types of information that the government can collect about Americans, and it fails to adequately limit how long the government can keep the information it collects about us,» Markey said in a 2020 statement objecting to the FISA renewal.
«I am unwilling to grant any president surveillance tools that pose such a high risk to Americans’ civil liberties,» he said.
In 2011, Merkley was one of eight senators who voted to prevent the Patriot Act renewal from even coming to the floor for debate, according to Oregon Live.
His Beaver State colleague, Wyden, ultimately voted to allow debate, but said on the Senate floor during such discourse that it needs to be potentially reconsidered.
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«The Patriot Act was passed a decade ago during a period of understandable fear,» Wyden said at the time.
«Now is the time to revisit this… and ensure that a better job is done of striking that balance between fighting terror and protecting individual liberty.»
Merkley expressed concern at the time about the Patriot Act’s ability to let law enforcement collect many types of personal data like emails and phone records.
In order to get a REAL ID, licensees must provide their Social Security number and other documentation.
While the REAL ID implementation was delayed 20 years by several factors including COVID-19, Merkley cast a «protest vote» at the time of the Patriot Act renewal that a four-year extension of the post-9/11 act was being put forth without sufficient time for debate.
In 2005, Wyden also gave a Senate floor speech opposing the first reauthorization of the Patriot Act.
Markey did not respond to multiple requests for comment, left at his Washington and Boston offices. Merkley also did not respond to a request for comment.
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A representative for Wyden acknowledged Fox News Digital’s comment request, but said the Oregonian was traveling and holding town halls with constituents back home and could not be immediately reached.
On his senatorial webpage, Wyden offered a rundown of all his comprehensive actions in favor of privacy, as well as «le[ading] the fight to address the Intelligence Community’s reliance on secret interpretations of surveillance law.»
«When the American people find out how their government has secretly interpreted the Patriot Act, they will be stunned and they will be angry,» he said in 2011.
Wyden was also outraged in 2013 when the NSA was found to be secretly interpreting the act to collect personal data of millions of Americans without a warrant.
In a statement to Fox News Digital on privacy concerns with REAL ID, Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said REAL IDs rightly «make identification harder to forge, thwarting criminals and terrorists.»
«Eighty-one percent of air travelers [already] hold REAL ID-compliant or acceptable IDs,» McLaughlin said.
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«DHS will continue to collaborate with state, local, and airport authorities to inform the public, facilitate compliance, curb wait times and prevent fraud.»
Fox News also reached out for comment to a bipartisan series of lawmakers who have been party to pro-privacy bills or taken pro-privacy stances in the past, including Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.
Politics,Airlines,Homeland Security,Republicans,Senate Democrats
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El Salvador abordará la integración de inteligencia artificial y sistemas alimentarios descentralizados en la Cumbre SOVAI 2026
El Salvador acogerá la Cumbre SOVAI 2026, un evento internacional enfocado en la convergencia entre inteligencia artificial soberana, agricultura y sistemas alimentarios descentralizados. El anuncio se realizó a través de las redes sociales por parte de los organizadores, quienes destacaron que el país centroamericano se consolida como un referente mundial en innovación tecnológica y agrícola.
La Cumbre SOVAI, que se celebrará del 20 al 21 de abril en San Salvador, promete reunir a líderes mundiales en áreas como inteligencia artificial, infraestructura tecnológica, energía, desarrollo global y agricultura regenerativa.
El evento, presentado como el primero de su tipo, busca empoderar a naciones y ciudadanos para que construyan y controlen su propia infraestructura tecnológica y, a la vez, reflexionen sobre la soberanía alimentaria como pilar de la independencia nacional.
Texas Slim, fundador de The Beef Initiative y propietario de Beef.com, explicó que “esto es más que alimentar personas—es mostrarle al mundo cómo luce un sistema alimentario soberano. El ganado, la tierra y los productores son la base de la verdadera independencia». Agregó que a través de la cumbre se está “llevando ese mensaje al escenario global”.
La iniciativa cuenta con la colaboración de BeefBackBetter, que será responsable junto a The Beef Initiative de servir las hamburguesas durante el evento.
La acción busca demostrar en tiempo real los principios de trazabilidad, producción ética y descentralización alimentaria, en contraposición a los sistemas centralizados de distribución de alimentos. James Snyder, fundador de BeefBackBetter, afirmó: “El ganado empodera a las personas, mejora la tierra, genera ingresos y provee nutrición real. Combinado con sistemas descentralizados como Bitcoin y la innovación que ocurre en El Salvador, estamos construyendo algo totalmente nuevo—algo que funciona».
Por su parte, Andrea Hernández Tobar, directora nacional de The Beef Initiative en El Salvador, señaló que el futuro no depende únicamente de la tecnología o la agricultura por separado, sino de la integración de ambas. “Lo que observamos es la integración de infraestructura, trazabilidad y sistemas de producción reales. Aquí es donde se dirigen los sistemas globales. La tecnología sin seguridad alimentaria está incompleta”, dijo.
La elección de El Salvador como sede de la Cumbre SOVAI responde, según los organizadores, a su liderazgo en la adopción de tecnologías disruptivas como Bitcoin, su marco regulatorio innovador, las inversiones en infraestructura y los modelos de desarrollo soberano. Estas características han posicionado al país como un centro de referencia para la innovación tanto tecnológica como agrícola a nivel mundial.
“Estamos agradecidos de que la Oficina de Bitcoin de El Salvador haya confiado en The Beef Initiative y en el equipo de BeefBackBetter para servir hamburguesas de calidad en esta importante conferencia de inteligencia artificial”, expresó Tom Taber, director de divulgación ejecutiva para The Beef Initiative y Beef.com. “Esto demuestra nuestra cooperación con el gobierno de El Salvador en la construcción de un sistema alimentario más seguro para esta nación”, añadió.
El evento pondrá sobre la mesa temas centrales como la soberanía alimentaria, los sistemas descentralizados, el empoderamiento de los productores y la colaboración global.
La cita aspira a sentar las bases para una conversación crítica sobre el futuro de la soberanía alimentaria y el papel de la inteligencia artificial en la construcción de sistemas más resilientes y autónomos. Con la mirada puesta en el largo plazo, El Salvador se posiciona como un laboratorio vivo donde se ensayan modelos de desarrollo que integran innovación, seguridad alimentaria y empoderamiento comunitario, mostrando al mundo una nueva visión de independencia y colaboración en la era digital.
corresponsal:Desde San Salvador, El Salvador
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AAP faces pressure over trans youth care, guiding docs to keep parents in the dark about child’s sexual health
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FIRST ON FOX: A parental rights advocacy organization is sounding the alarm over the American Academy of Pediatrics’ (AAP) support for transgender medical procedures for minors and encouragement of healthcare providers to withhold the sexual health and history of underage patients from parents.
The American Parents’ Coalition compiled a «lookout» showcasing videos and public statements by AAP asserting that «science» supports «gender-affirming care,» which can range from puberty blockers to cross-sex hormones to surgeries for minors. The launch of the online parental notification system comes weeks before AAP is scheduled to hold its advocacy conference in Virginia from April 12 to April 14.
American Parents Coalition Executive Director Alleigh Marré accused AAP of acting like «a political advocacy group, putting ideology ahead of evidence and children’s wellbeing.» The «lookout» states that during AAP’s 2025 Leadership Conference, 98% of its members voted to make protecting sex change treatments its top resolution.
«Even as health systems abroad rethink experimental gender interventions, the AAP has doubled down on aggressive and irreversible procedures rather than exercise basic caution,» Marre said. «By prioritizing resolutions that elevate transgender interventions and partnering with activist groups, the AAP is acting to protect a political project.»
HHS UNLEASHES SWEEPING CRACKDOWN ON CHILD ‘SEX-REJECTING PROCEDURES,’ THREATENS HOSPITAL, MEDICAID FUNDING
A girl in a denim t-shirt with a rainbow symbol wears a backpack in a summer park outdoors, in Russia, January 20, 2022 (Iurii Krasilnikov / Getty Images)
In addition to advocating for sex change treatments for minors, AAP advocates for other political agendas, including banning so-called «assault weapons» and red flag laws, which allow courts to temporarily remove firearms from individuals deemed a risk to themselves or others.
A 2023 blog post on AAP’s website titled «Supporting Our Transgender and Gender-diverse Youth» stresses that doctors must provide «unconditional support» to underage patients, including asking their pronouns, using their preferred name and prioritizing their desires to change their gender over the concerns of parents.
«We have heard from parents, «I just don’t understand» in many of our conversations,» the blog post stated. «When patients and parents disagree about next steps for affirmation, acknowledge parents’ concerns, but always support your patient. When youth are not affirmed, there is a significant increase in depression, anxiety, risky behaviors, and suicide.»
However, at least two research reviews conducted by the United Kingdom and the United States governments indicate that performing transgender medical procedures on minors may not carry significant benefits.
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Little boy, who is strugglng with their gender, identifying as a girl (Nicoleta Ionescu / Getty Images)
A 2025 report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) concluded there is a lack of proven benefit that medical and surgical sex-reassignment procedures alleviate a patient’s gender dysphoria. Additionally, a report by the National Health Service England found that a medical pathway may not be the best way to address gender-related stress and advised «extreme caution» for hormonal therapy for minors.
In June 2025, AAP President Susan Kressly criticized the Supreme Court’s ruling upholding Tennessee’s ban on providing minors with puberty blockers and hormones, accusing the decision of robbing children of «basic human dignity.»
THE MEDICAL SYSTEM PUSHED TRANSGENDER SURGERY ON KIDS — NOW IT’S FACING LEGAL JUSTICE
«Gender-affirming care is medically necessary for treating gender dysphoria and is backed by decades of peer-reviewed research, clinical experience, and scientific consensus,» Kressly said in a statement at the time.
Do No Harm Chief Medical Officer Kurt Miceli argued that AAP is misrepresenting «the low quality of evidence» supporting «gender-affirming care,» which «can cause lasting harm» to children.
«They are among the staunchest supporters of sex-rejecting procedures for minors, vehemently criticizing HHS’s comprehensive evidence review yet refusing to submit a peer review when invited,» Miceli said. «It is now time for the AAP to re-evaluate their policy statement and follow the American Society of Plastic Surgeons in opposing these harmful, unscientific, and dangerous practices on American kids.»
ESSAY EXPOSES CRUMBLING MEDICAL CONSENSUS ON YOUTH GENDER SURGERY
A female doctor of Middle Eastern descent sits with a young mother and her son as they discuss the child’s medical needs in Canada on Sept. 28, 2022. (FatCamera / Getty Images)
AAP also created an Adolescent Health Care Toolkit geared toward teaching pediatricians how to engage in sensitive conversations surrounding an underage patient’s sexual activity, their gender identity, and even connecting the patient with emergency contraception based on understanding that this information will not be relayed back to the patient’s parents.
In one of the videos, Kelsey, a 17-year-old «patient,» talked about having sex with her «girlfriend» named Mary, who had a penis. At the beginning of the video, the doctor ensured with Kelsey that their discussion «stayed between the two of us» unless there was a concern for her safety or another person. The doctor discussed plans for birth control and ways to prevent a sexually transmitted infection.
In another training video, a 15-year-old girl told her doctor that she was a «gender-queer-demi-boy.» The girl said she had not shared this information with her parents, and the doctor assured her he would keep it between the two of them.
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In 2025, AAP received roughly $19 million in grants from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The Trump administration terminated $12 million in grants, with HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. accusing AAP’s recommendations of being «just a pay-to-play scheme to promote commercial ambitions.» AAP sued, and a federal judge restored the grants as the litigation plays out in court.
Fox News Digital reached out to AAP for comment.
politics, education health, health, sexual health, childrens health
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