Abortion providers and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit Wednesday challenging Iowa’s abortion restriction that would ban most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, which is typically when a fetal heartbeat can be detected.

Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, the Emma Goldman Clinic and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Iowa filed the challenge in district court less than 12 hours after the bill passed. 

‘Today, we continue the fight to protect Iowans’ fundamental right to reproductive freedom and bodily autonomy as we seek a temporary injunction to block the egregious abortion ban Iowa lawmakers rammed through during an unprecedented one-day special session,’ Ruth Richardson, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood North Central States said in a statement Wednesday. 

‘These out-of- touch politicians have inserted themselves into the exam rooms of Iowans, who no longer have control over their bodies and futures because of an unpopular, narrow political agenda,’ Richardson added.

‘These out-of- touch politicians have inserted themselves into the exam rooms of Iowans.’

— Ruth Richardson, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood North Central States

Without Iowa court intervention, the legislation banning abortion will take effect immediately when Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds signs it Friday.

The law includes exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother. 

Iowa’s abortion providers heartedly disagreed, saying that the bill only provides ‘so-called exceptions’ for women.

‘While the ban contains some so-called exceptions, the reality is that the vast majority of Iowans will be unable to access abortion,’ Planned Parenthood wrote in a statement.

The new legislation comes after the Iowa Supreme Court declined to reinstate an earlier 2018 law that would have had much the same effect. Abortion providers are arguing that since the Iowa Supreme Court blocked earlier legislation, then they should block the near-identical legislation now.

‘Today – just weeks after defeating a similar abortion ban — we are asking the court to immediately act to protect Iowans’ access to essential health care,’ said Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO, Planned Parenthood Federation of America. ‘Every person deserves the freedom to make their own personal decisions about their bodies and their future. To strip people of that fundamental freedom is unconscionable.

The ban was passed last week when Reynolds called legislators back for a special session.

‘Today, the Iowa legislature once again voted to protect life and end abortion at a heartbeat, with exceptions for rape, incest, and life of the mother,’ Reynold’s said in a statement Tuesday. ‘I believe the pro-life movement is the most important human rights cause of our time.’

Fox News’ Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, grilled FBI Director Christopher Wray on Wednesday concerning the bureau’s collection of American citizens’ personal data.

During the exchange, which took place during Wray’s appearance before the House Judiciary Committee, Jayapal warned that the FBI could face a ‘very difficult’ process to reauthorize the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) if the bureau couldn’t ensure Americans’ privacy is being protected.

‘I do want to focus on some areas of concern around Americans’ civil liberties that I have had long-standing concerns about,’ Jayapal told Wray as she began her questioning. The congresswoman noted testimony he gave the Senate Intelligence Committee in March that the FBI doesn’t currently purchase commercial data on U.S. citizens, but also referenced a declassified report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) that said the opposite.

She then asked Wray how the FBI uses the data it purchases.

‘Respectfully, this is a topic that gets very involved to explain. And so what I would prefer to do is have our subject-matter experts come back up and brief you, and they can answer your questions in detail about it because there’s a lot of confusion that can be unintentionally caused about this topic,’ Wray responded.

‘But does the FBI purchase data?’ Jayapal asked.

Wray said his testimony that the FBI doesn’t purchase data is the same, regardless of what the ODNI report said. ‘But again, there is a lot of precision and technical dimensions to this,’ he added.

‘Well, I do appreciate that. But I am looking at a report that is from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence saying that the FBI purchases data,’ Jayapal said.

‘I understand that,’ Wray said.

Jayapal asked if the FBI’s contracts it has with data brokers, from whom the ODNI report she referenced said the bureau purchased data, provided location data.

‘My testimony about purchasing commercial database information that includes location data derived from internet advertising remains the same, which is that we currently do not do that,’ Wray responded, repeating his answer.

Jayapal asked if the data the FBI had already purchased contained location data.

‘Again, I’m not trying to be obtuse or difficult here. I just know from experience that the more you drill into this whole issue of commercial data, geolocation data, etc., that it gets very involved. In some cases it involves pilot projects that are in the past, in some cases it involves national security information, etc., so I just want to make sure that we get you the information you need,’ Wray said.

Jayapal responded she would ‘take that,’ but said it was ‘an extremely important issue for the American people to understand how their data is being used,’ including location, biometric, medical, mental health, communications and internet activity data.

‘While I understand that that’s complicated, that is the reason that you come before us, so that the American people can hear this,’ she said. 

Jayapal went on to question Wray about any written policies the FBI might have to outline ‘how it can purchase and use commercially available information,’ but Wray insisted his response would be part of the same briefing he offered in his previous answer.

Jayapal cited a Supreme Court case that found it was ‘a violation of the Fourth Amendment for the government to access historical location data without a warrant,’ and said she would follow up with Wray on whether the FBI had a written policy on how it interprets that decision.

‘This is a critically important issue for the American people to understand. We have bipartisan support around FISA reauthorization and the concerns we have around FISA reauthorization. And unless we really understand what measures the FBI is taking to ensure that people’s privacy is protected, I think it’s going to be a very difficult reauthorization process. I’m sure you know that,’ Jayapal said.

Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, thanked Jayapal for her questioning, calling it ‘well said.’

A number of House Republicans are urging Congress not to renew FISA when it expires at the end of this year, a move those lawmakers say would curb the government’s ability to spy on U.S. citizens.

Livid.

At LIV Golf — and its effort to forge an alliance — and potentially consume the PGA Tour.

‘It’s called sportswashing,’ Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said at a hearing this week.

He suggests the Saudis may try to mend their image on the global stage by merging with the PGA Tour.

Blumenthal leads the Senate’s panel on ‘Permanent Investigations.’ He’s outraged that Saudi-backed LIV Golf may blend with the PGA Tour. He worries about Saudi Arabia’s human rights record. The Saudis have jailed dissidents and continue fostering a war in Yemen. Concerns linger about Saudi Arabia’s ties to the 9/11 hijackers. That’s to say nothing of the brutal murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. 

So, Blumenthal launched a formal probe.

‘Today’s hearing is about much more than the game of golf,’ said Blumenthal. ‘It is about how a brutal, repressive regime can buy influence — indeed even take over — a cherished American institution simply to cleanse its public image.’

But the framework deal inflamed old concerns about the Saudis dating back to one of the most ignominious dates in American history. Especially as big-name golfers sprinted toward big salaries offered by LIV Golf.

‘You had (PGA Tour Commissioner) Jay Monahan on national TV last year at the Canadian Open talking about PGA Tour guys have never had to apologize for working with a regime that’s tied to 9/11,’ said Mark Harris, who follows golf for Outkick.

That could be an issue. Or would golfers teeing up under the new golf organization be muted when it comes to talking about Saudi Arabia?

Blumenthal posed that very question at the hearing. Witnesses from the PGA Tour said there was no such inhibition. But Blumenthal wasn’t convinced.

Optics are paramount in politics. And the PGA Tour may encounter some of the worst optics in recent memory on Capitol Hill at this week’s hearing.

A cadre of families who lost loved ones on 9/11 filled the hearing room in the Hart Senate Office Building, protesting the potential golf realignment.

‘Why would you partner with the kingdom of Saudi Arabia?’ asked Terry Strada, head of 9/11 Families United.

Strada lost her husband Tom in the North Tower on 9/11, four days after she gave birth to their third child.

Tom Strada was a scratch golfer. Strada says the possible merger would tarnish the game for her.

‘I doubt I would remain a fan of golf. I do think it would be very difficult,’ Strada said, doubting she would watch a tournament on TV.

The 9/11 families hold particular contempt for PGA Tour board member Jimmy Dunne. Dunne was one of the PGA Tour’s witnesses at the hearing this week. Dunne helped broker the framework between the PGA Tour and the Saudis.

On 9/11, Dunne worked for the bond trading firm Sandler O’Neill & Partners. Its headquarters was on the 104th Floor of the South Tower. The firm lost 66 employees that day.

Dunne survived.

Dunne was playing golf on 9/11, attempting to qualify for the U.S. Mid-Amateur Open.

Dunne was emotional as he talked about the terrorist attacks at the hearing.

‘Anyone remotely involved. Anyone tangentially involved. Anyone who profited. We should pursue them with extreme prejudice. To the full extent. To the complete capacity,’ said Dunne. ‘For this crime, it’s death.’
 

But Dunne helped seal the arrangement with LIV Golf. Hence, the enmity by others who lost loved ones on 9/11.

‘Mr. Dunne is a complete betrayal to the 9/11 community,’ Strada steamed. ‘He knows that the kingdom is culpable for murdering 3,000 people on 9/11. Why would he ever go to them and ask them for help?’

Dunne testified that LIV Golf could ‘gut’ the professional tour in just five years by just poaching five players a year and promising prodigious paydays.

Dunne told senators LIV Golf posed an existential threat to the PGA Tour.

‘LIV put us on fire,’ said Dunne, noting that the Saudis ‘got a lot of money. I mean a lot.’

So what suddenly changed for the PGA Tour?

‘I think you need to know some sort of timeline here,’ Mark Harris of Outkick said. ‘When exactly did this flip?’

The PGA Tour and LIV Golf shocked the world with their announcement following mysterious, secret talks. One document released by Blumenthal’s panel indicated ‘the earliest known outreach regarding the possibility of an agreement between the PGA Tour and PIF (the Saudis Public Investment Fund) occurred on December 8, 2022.’

Meantime, the PGA Tour publicly railed against LIV Golf as talks unfolded behind the scenes.

‘How many players did you notify in advance of reaching the agreement?’ Blumenthal asked PGA Tour CEO Ron Price.

‘I don’t believe any players were on it,’ Price replied.

Blumenthal was stunned.

‘Not a single player was notified? You’re a membership organization. Your members are the players. You don’t exist without the players. But you didn’t tell a single one of them about the negotiations, let alone what the result would be before you announced it publicly?’ an incredulous Blumenthal countered.

Blumenthal also asked Price if players felt ‘blindsided and betrayed.’

Price responded that players ‘are beginning to understand exactly why we had to do it and how this will be beneficial.’

None of that satisfied Blumenthal.

‘The PGA Tour has already shown that it is seemingly willing to reverse itself totally for the money,’ said Blumenthal.

But not all senators believed this agreement was as nefarious as Blumenthal suggested it may be.

‘It would be grossly unfair to expect the PGA Tour to bear the full burden of holding Saudi Arabia accountable,’ said Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisc., the top Republican on the panel.

‘Many of you said that the LIV organization is the Saudi’s way of sportswashing,’ said Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan. ‘What was China when they hosted the Olympics but a few years ago? Sportswashing?’

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., questioned why Blumenthal convened a hearing at all.

‘I see a certain illegitimacy to the whole proceeding today,’ observed Paul. ‘We have a show trial basically of a private organization, which I think is inappropriate.’

Blumenthal still wants to hear from Jay Monahan, who is out on medical leave.

He noted that the Saudis don’t ‘get to take over the sport.’

Senators left a classified briefing on artificial intelligence Tuesday with a deeper understanding of how AI is already being used to bolster U.S. national security and the looming threat China poses as it deploys its own AI capabilities.

‘I think, from a military perspective, it’s very existential because China’s playing for keeps,’ Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., told Fox News Digital after the closed-door session. ‘On the commercial side, there’s a lot of innovation that’s happening. So, it’s moving quickly, but I think the best we can do right now is get a firm understanding.’

Tuesday afternoon’s briefing was the first-ever classified meeting with senators and key Pentagon officials about AI. Discussion included how the U.S. is using AI to maintain its national security edge and how adversaries like China are using this emerging tool.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told reporters what he learned was ‘eye-opening.’ It comes after he told senators in a letter over the weekend that Congress is moving full steam ahead on his AI regulatory framework, which Schumer said Tuesday could take months to develop.

‘This briefing shows just depth, complexity, but necessity of getting something real done. It’s going to be very hard. It’s going to be one of the hardest tasks that Congress has ever faced, but it’s probably one of the very most important. We can’t run away from it,’ Schumer said.

He also acknowledged the U.S. is in a race against time with China and other ‘bad actors’ on AI development.

‘Our timetable in terms of producing legislation is not years and not days and weeks, but months,’ he said. ‘We can’t rush too fast … but we can’t go so slowly that either other governments that are authoritarian or bad actors who are private sector actors get ahead of us.’

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, said she left the briefing feeling confident about the country’s position but warned the U.S. cannot lift its foot off the gas pedal in developing AI capabilities.

‘I feel good about where we are. There’s a lot of work to do, but I feel good about where we are in terms of that briefing,’ Ernst said. ‘We should always be concerned about China, always, and strive to do anything better and faster than China.’

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., agreed there was a general worry in the chamber about China but said Tuesday’s classified briefing was more informative than alarming about that threat.

‘I think we’re all very concerned about it,’ Kaine told Fox News Digital. ‘I didn’t walk out more concerned. I probably have more granular understanding of capacities we have, capacities they have. It’s been a helpful set of hearings to get us positioned to legislate.’

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chair Gary Peters, D-Mich., did not go into detail about the briefing but said there was ‘constant action’ in Congress on the AI front.

‘It was very informative. I learned a lot, and surely it’s informing some of the discussions that we’re having right now,’ Peters said of the private session.

Republican Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., even shared cautious praise for the Biden administration over how it is handling AI. 

‘I think the more I learn, the more reassured I am that my colleagues and certain key members of the administration are taking the opportunities and the risks of AI-based technological development seriously,’ Young said.

‘It’s really mostly the acceleration of existing threats,’ Young said when asked about China and other overseas risks. ‘So, it would be the democratization of the ability to produce harmful weapons or substances. It would be the risk of falling behind in the development of best-in-class artificial intelligence-based technologies, and a failure of imagination would perhaps be the biggest risk.’

Young is a member of a four-person bipartisan Senate working group on AI convened by Schumer. The group was responsible for convening a series of learning sessions, including Tuesday’s briefing, so colleagues could become more informed on AI as Congress works to get ahead of its lightening-fast advancements.

His fellow Republican in the group, Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., told Fox News Digital 59 senators attended the session Tuesday and said it ‘woke them up’ to America’s AI-based defensive capabilities. But he did not leave the meeting with any new concerns about U.S. competitiveness.

‘I thought the panel did a good job of explaining the opportunities that we have within the defense of our country using AI, what we’re using right now, what our adversaries have for capabilities that we have to be concerned with,’ Rounds said.

‘I think, for a number of the members who have not had this as their specialty area, I think it woke them up as to just how deeply AI is embedded into, as a technology, into our defensive capabilities.’

FIRST ON FOX: FBI Director Christopher Wray is expected to defend the work of the FBI during testimony before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday morning, Fox News Digital has learned, amid allegations of politicization within the bureau.

Wray is set to appear before the committee, which has jurisdiction over the FBI and the Justice Department, Wednesday at 10 a.m. as part of an oversight hearing.

An FBI spokesperson told Fox News Digital that Wray is expected to focus his remarks on ‘the good work of the FBI to protect the American people and the professionalism, patriotism, and dedication to public service of FBI employees.’

He is also expected to discuss the ‘sheer breadth and impact’ of the work the bureau’s more than 38,000 employees do each day, because ‘the work the men and women of the FBI do to protect the American people goes way beyond the one or two investigations that seem to capture all the headlines.’

According to prepared testimony obtained by Fox News Digital, Wray will discuss what the FBI has done to take on violent crime – arresting more than 20,000 violent criminals and child predators, which he will say is ‘an average of almost 60 bad guys taken off the streets per day, every day.’

Wray is also expected to highlight ‘going after the cartels exploiting our southern border to traffic fentanyl and other dangerous drugs into communities nationwide.’

He will supposedly say that the FBI is running ‘well over 300 investigations targeting the leadership of those cartels,’ and working with partners to stop drugs from reaching ‘their intended destinations’ across the nation.

The prepared testimony also showed Wray will discuss the ‘thousands of active investigations’ the FBI has into the Chinese government’s efforts to ‘steal our most precious secrets, rob our businesses of their ideas and innovation, and repress freedom of speech right here in the United States.’

‘And that’s just scratching the surface; the men and women of the FBI work tirelessly every day to protect the American people from a staggering array of threats,’ Wray is expected to testify.

The bureau director is expected to face tough questioning from lawmakers on the House Judiciary Committee as the FBI faces allegations of operating within a political bias.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, has led a number of FBI-focused investigations since taking leadership of the committee after whistleblowers have come forward to allege politicization within the bureau and a political bias against conservatives.

Those whistleblowers have accused the FBI of targeting pro-life groups, Catholics, and parents attending school board meetings, alleging an internal effort to ‘inflate’ the domestic terrorism threat.

Jordan and Republican lawmakers are expected to press Wray on the alleged abuses and alleged retaliation against those whistleblowers. The FBI has denied the allegations.

Jordan has also said the FBI colluded with Big Tech social media companies ahead of the 2020 presidential election – specifically to limit and block social media posts related to Hunter Biden’s laptop.

The FBI had the laptop in its possession at the time and knew it contained ‘credible’ evidence as part of the Hunter Biden probe.

As for the Hunter Biden probe, lawmakers have been demanding answers from the FBI on what it did with information contained in a key FD-1023 form, alleging a criminal bribery scheme between then-Vice President Joe Biden and a foreign national.

The House Oversight Committee subpoenaed the FBI to turn over the document for Congress to review, but the FBI did not comply. Instead, the FBI made accommodations to bring a redacted version of the document to a secure setting on Capitol Hill for lawmakers on that committee to review. Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., threatened to hold Wray in contempt of Congress for not complying with the subpoena.

The document in question details allegations made by a top executive of Ukrainian natural gas firm Burisma Holdings to a ‘highly-credible’ FBI confidential human source. The executive alleged that he paid $5 million to Joe Biden and $5 million to Hunter Biden in exchange for influence over policy decisions. 

The executive also alleges that he has 17 audio recordings of conversations he had with Hunter Biden and Joe Biden, which he kept as somewhat of an ‘insurance policy.’

Federal prosecutors and agents on the team investigating Hunter Biden were briefed on that FBI form, but lawmakers in both the House and Senate are questioning if the FBI ever investigated the claims. 

An FBI official, though, told Fox News Digital that ‘many of the issues this committee is focused on are centered around prosecutorial decisions, which are not made by the FBI but, rather, the Department of Justice.’ 

Most recently, Jordan has joined forces with the House Oversight and Ways & Means committees to demand testimony from officials involved in the years-long federal investigation into Hunter Biden. 

Jordan has called on key FBI and DOJ officials to appear before the House Judiciary Committee for transcribed interviews related to that investigation, which whistleblowers have said was influenced by politics. Those interviews have yet to be scheduled. 

Meanwhile, during the hearing, Jordan and Republicans are expected to highlight Special Counsel John Durham’s findings following his years-long investigation into the origins of the FBI’s original Trump-Russia probe, also known as ‘Crossfire Hurricane.’ That report revealed the investigation into the Trump campaign and former President Trump was unwarranted, and detailed many of the FBI’s errors when launching that counterintelligence probe.

Wray and current top officials at the FBI have stressed that the Trump-Russia investigation was launched under the leadership of then-FBI Director James Comey. The FBI has also said the conduct Durham examined ‘was the reason’ Wray and current leadership have ‘already implemented dozens of corrective actions, which have now been in place for some time.’

‘Had those reforms been in place in 2016, the missteps identified in the report could have been prevented,’ the FBI told Fox News Digital, adding that the Durham report ‘reinforces the importance of ensuring the FBI continues to do its work with the rigor, objectivity, and professionalism the American people deserve and rightly expect.’

But a committee aide said GOP lawmakers haven’t been satisfied with the FBI’s response and are expected to press Wray to make further reforms within the bureau.

Jordan and GOP lawmakers are also expected to press Wray on the FBI’s decision to conduct an unprecedented search for classified records at former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home on Aug. 8, 2022.

Special Counsel Jack Smith took over the FBI and DOJ’s investigation into Trump’s alleged improper retention of classified records. Trump has pleaded not guilty to 37 federal charges stemming from the probe, including willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice, and false statements – the first time in U.S. history a former president has faced federal criminal charges.

Because the special counsel runs the Trump-classified records probe, Wray is likely to defer all questions to Smith’s office. 

Meanwhile, lawmakers are expected to grill Wray on the agency’s confidential human source program, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act—specifically Section 702, which is expected to sunset in December, and other issues.