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Sources: Tentative Patriot Act Deal Struck

House and Senate negotiators struck a tentative deal on the expiring Patriot Act that would curb FBI subpoena power and require the Justice Department to more fully report its secret requests for information about ordinary people, according to officials involved in the talks. The agreement, which would make most provisions of the existing law permanent, was reached just before dawn Wednesday. The tentative deal would make permanent all but a handful of the expiring provisions, the sources said. Others would expire in seven years if not renewed by Congress. They include rules on wiretapping, obtaining business records under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and new standards for monitoring "lone wolf" terrorists who may be operating independent of a foreign agent or power. The draft also would impose a new requirement that the Justice Department report to Congress annually on its use of national security letters, secret requests for the phone, business and Internet records of ordinary people. The aggregate number of letters issued per year, reported to be about 30,000, is classified. Citing confidential investigations, the Justice Department has refused lawmakers' request for the information. The 2001 Patriot Act removed the requirement that the records sought be those of someone under suspicion. As a result, FBI agents can review the digital records of a citizen as long as the bureau can certify that the person's records are "relevant" to a terrorist investigation. Also part of the tentative agreement are modest new requirements on so-called roving wiretaps _ monitoring devices placed on a single person's telephones and other devices to keep a target from evading law enforcement officials by switching phones or computers. The tentative deal also would raise the threshold for securing business records under FISA, requiring law enforcement to submit a "statement of facts" showing "reasonable grounds to believe the records are relevant to an investigation. Law enforcement officials also would have to show that an individual is in contact with or known to be in contact with a suspected agent of a foreign power....

DRONES 'TO FLY OVER CITIES'

HONEYWELL is developing a micro flying spy drone -- that would be used for civilian law enforcement! The device, a hovering robot carrying video cameras and other sensors, is being created and tested at HONEYWELL's Albuquerque, NM plant. The first round of testing on the drone [MICRO AIR VEHICLE] has been completed, reports Bob Martin of CBS affiliate KRQE. The battery powered craft can stay in the air for 50-60 minutes at a time, and moves around at up to 55 kilometers an hour. The Micro Air Vehicle has flown more than 200 successful flights, including flying in a representative urban environment....

Senate Passes Crimefighting Budget Bill

The FBI and other federal crimefighting agencies came out well in a $57.9 billion spending bill passed by the Senate on Wednesday, but funds for state and local law enforcement were cut. The 94-5 Senate vote sent the bill, which covers Justice, Commerce, State Department and science agency programs, to President Bush for his signature. The Justice-Commerce bill for fiscal year 2006 that began Oct. 1 would provide $5.8 billion for the FBI, $1.7 billion for the Drug Enforcement Administration and $924 million for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, all up from fiscal 2005. But the $2.7 billion in aid for state and local law enforcement, while $1.1 billion above the president's request, was down $300 million from last year....