Supreme Court weighs ‘geofence warrants’ for cellphone data
The US Supreme Court in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, April 20, 2026. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — For generations, cops have obtained warrants to lawfully seek information from a specific suspect in a crime.
The Supreme Court on Monday is considering whether investigators can also use so-called “geofence warrants” to do the reverse — scanning cell phone data of thousands of innocent individuals in hopes of finding a suspect to apprehend.
The landmark case is the first time the justices will consider whether the controversial practice of digital dragnets, which have grown in popularity among law enforcement with advances in technology, violate constitutional protections against unreasonable searches.
Critics say the warrants intrude on Americans’ reasonable expectation of privacy by compelling service providers to turn over broad swaths of user location history and time stamps within a specified area over a specified timeframe.
Advocates for geofence warrants call them a critical tool that will help police more quickly solve crimes, in turn making communities safer. They also emphasize that most cellphone users knowingly transmit location data to third-party tech companies already.
The petitioner in the case, Okello Chatrie, was indicted on charges related to an armed robbery of a Virginia credit union in 2019 and wants key cellphone location evidence against him thrown out.
Authorities relied heavily on data obtained from Google under a geofence warrant that placed Chatrie’s cellphone within 150 meters of the bank during the crime.
The Trump administration, which is defending the law enforcement tool and Chatrie’s prosecution, argues that by sharing location information with apps and service providers like Google, a person forfeits any expectation of privacy.
A decision in the case — Chatrie v U.S. — is expected by the end of June.
Paratroopers assigned to 2nd Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division conduct live fire exercises at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, July 28, 2025. (Spc Jayreliz Batista Prado/US Army, File)
(WASHINGTON) — Elements of the 82nd Airborne Division are poised to deploy to the Middle East, amid the U.S. and Israel’s war with Iran, according to a source familiar with the situation.
The deployment is set to include both a headquarters unit and ground combat forces. A headquarters company, around 250 personnel, would handle logistics, coordination and operational planning for the deployment.
One brigade — about 3,000 soldiers — of the 82nd is constantly on standby as the Immediate Response Force, tasked to be able to deploy anywhere in the world within 18 hours.
It remains unclear how many combat troops would ultimately be mobilized — or what role they would play in a potential conflict with Iran. Any move to introduce U.S. ground forces would mark a significant escalation, opening the door to a far broader and more complex phase of the war.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly said that the U.S. has effectively won the war and that Iran’s military is nearly annihilated. But strikes against U.S. troops in neighboring countries has continued. So far, 13 U.S. troops have been killed in action and at least 290 have been wounded.
“I don’t like to say this. We’ve won this — this war has been won,” Trump told reporters Tuesday.
So far, 13 U.S. troops have been killed in action and at least 290 have been wounded.
The 82nd Airborne Division is the Pentagon’s premier ground force, designed to deploy on short notice anywhere in the world and trained in parachute assaults to quickly seize contested terrain — though that doesn’t mean that’s how they could be deployed into the Middle East.
Signs of a potential deployment have been building for weeks. Earlier this month, the same 82nd Airborne headquarters unit was suddenly pulled from a significant training event at Fort Polk, Louisiana, three U.S. officials told ABC News, fueling speculation the division was being prepared to deploy to the Middle East.
The 82nd, which is based out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina, could join the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) as potential ground forces swell into the region. A MEU is a 2,200-troop force which is expected to arrive in the Middle East this week.
Experts say the MEU would likely be used to conduct raids across the Iranian shoreline to gain a foothold in areas around the crucial Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20% of the world’s oil flows by ship.
And three Navy ships carrying 2,200 Marines left San Diego last week for a previously scheduled deployment to the Indo-Pacific, but two U.S. officials tell ABC News their ultimate destination is likely the Middle East.
The 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit is aboard the USS Boxer, the USS Comstock and the USS Portland — along with 2,000 sailors.
Jeffrey Epstein abuse survivors stand in the audience as U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies before the House Judiciary Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on February 11, 2026 in Washington, DC. Alex Wong/Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — Several Democrats have invited survivors of late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to attend President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday night, while others plan to skip the event altogether in protest.
Roughly half a dozen Democrats, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, have ensured survivors of Epstein’s abuse will be seated in the House chamber for Trump’s high-profile speech.
Trump and the Justice Department have been dogged by questions about the Epstein files and their partial release and redactions. Some survivors have criticized the process and called for full release of the files, which are precipitating global fallout. The DOJ said it has complied with the law.
Reps. Jamie Raskin and Suhas Subramanyam announced Sky and Amanda Roberts as their guests, the brother and sister-in-law, respectively, of the late Virginia Roberts Giuffre.
Rep. Ro Khanna, who co-authored the Epstein Transparency Act that forced the DOJ to release millions of files related to Epstein, has invited survivor Haley Robson.
Some House Democrats plan to wear pins in support of Epstein survivors that call for all the files to be released.
The members of the Democratic Women’s Caucus who are attending the speech said they plan to wear white “to honor the suffragists who believed a women’s vote could change the country and their vision for that change.”
Meanwhile, dozens of Democrats are poised to skip the address in the House chamber, many instead attending a counter-program on the National Mall sponsored by the prominent progressive group MoveOn.
Dubbed the “People’s State of the Union,” MoveOn said the 8 p.m. ET counter-program will feature Democrats, organization members and “everyday Americans most impacted by Trump’s chaos.”
At least 45 House and Senate Democrats in total are planning to skip Trump’s address, according to a count by ABC News.
Republicans this fall will look to defend their narrow majorities in the House and Senate in what is historically a cycle that favors the minority party.
Jeffries, who has said “you don’t let anyone ever run you off of your block,” has made the case for his caucus to show its presence on Tuesday night without any outbursts after Democratic Rep. Al Green of Texas was ejected and ultimately censured for shaking his cane and shouting at Trump during last year’s joint address.
“The two options that are in front of us in our House [are] to either attend with silent defiance or to not attend and send a message to Donald Trump in that fashion, which will include participation in a variety of different alternate programming that is going to take place in and around the Capitol complex,” Jeffries told reporters last week.
Spanberger flipped control of the governor’s mansion from red to blue in 2025 after primarily campaigning on the issue of affordability.
“We are at a defining moment in our nation’s history. Virginians and Americans across the country are contending with rising costs, chaos in their communities, and a real fear of what each day might bring,” Spanberger said in a statement, adding she looked forward to “laying out what these Americans expect and deserve — leaders who are working hard to deliver for them.”
California Sen. Alex Padilla will deliver the Democratic Party’s Spanish-language response.
Linda McMahon, US education secretary, during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. (Yuri Gripas/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon granted Iowa a first-of-its-kind waiver to use millions of unrestricted federal dollars on education in a move that inches the Trump administration closer to its goal of transferring education power and decision-making to states.
“States should lead — Washington should support their sound approaches and get out of the way,” McMahon announced on Wednesday. “We hope that as we partner with congressional leaders to return education to the states we can work with them [Iowa] to expand these opportunities for states and local leaders to run their education systems.”
The over $9 million waiver will help the Hawkeye State save millions in “compliance costs” over four years as the money flows directly back into the classroom, McMahon said in a post on X.
“Iowa now has the flexibility to cut paperwork and simplify a hundred percent of state activities funding streams. It can invest in proven strategies to build a world-class teacher pipeline, close achievement gaps, and open post secondary opportunities to prepare for a great career,” McMahon said.
Under the waiver, certain federal requirements will be dropped so that less strings are attached giving the state more flexibility in using the aid. Prior to the formal waiver request, the state submitted a Unified Allocation Plan to show how it would use its funds to improve academic outcomes for Iowa’s education programs. The plan includes supporting effective educator development, English language acquisition, among other topics, according to state education leaders.
The approval of the waiver bolsters McMahon’s mission to reduce the federal government’s role in education nationwide. But education is already a local-level issue in the U.S. On average, state and local education agencies provide about 90% of public school funding across the country.
The agency is also working with about six additional states on their waiver requests, an Education Department spokesperson confirmed to ABC News.
Title VIII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 allows states and tribes to submit requests to waive any statutory or regulatory requirement seeking to “reduce administrative burden” and align programs with the needs of its students, according to a release from the Department of Education.
In addition to Iowa’s $9 million in flexible federal funding, the Education Department approved the state’s application for “Ed-Flex authority,” which allows the state to grant individual school districts waivers from certain federal requirements without first having to submit individual waiver requests, according to the release from the department.
McMahon made the announcement during her “Returning Education to the States Tour.”
During her first year as the nation’s top education official, McMahon has made about two dozen stops in states across the country aiming to identify the best educational practices on the local level and work with local leaders to scale those practices nationwide, she says.
Wednesday’s announcement allows state leaders to focus federal dollars on work that best improves the achievement of Iowa students, according to the release from the department. For the announcement, McMahon was joined by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, director of Education McKenzie Snow, and surrounded by about a dozen students at Broadway Elementary School in Denison.
Reynolds touted Iowa’s education models, including teaching the science of reading and using evidence-based math and reading practices. She stressed that the move Wednesday means “moving the dial” towards returning education to the states.
“The more red tape that we cut from the federal level, the more Iowa can increase education quality,” she added.
“I look forward to continuing to improve student outcomes, reduce red tape for schools, support teachers, and ensure federal education dollars are focused toward state and local priorities where they make the greatest difference,” Reynolds said in a statement.
However, critics of the Trump administration’s education initiatives say they believe abolishing the agency and giving sole power to the states could harm the millions of students across the country.
The top Democrat on the House Education and Workforce Committee slammed McMahon’s approval of the education waiver for allegedly ignoring the law and abandoning marginalized students.
In a statement, Ranking Member Bobby Scott, D-Virginia, urged the Department to “refrain” from granting similar waivers to other states.
“Congress must not sit idly by as the Trump administration makes every effort to drag students, educators, and parents back into an era where students were denied the opportunities and resources they needed to succeed,” Scott said.
