President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Office of National Intelligence has thrown a contentious congressional battle into an even more precarious state. Appointee Bill Pulte’s off-color past, lack of requisite qualifications, and history of pursuing Trump’s personal vendettas against perceived enemies have some lawmakers thinking twice about reauthorizing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), a controversial warrantless wiretapping law. 

What did the commentators say?
A bipartisan Senate group working toward reauthorizing the provision had been “expected to deliver the votes necessary to move ahead” with their plan last week, until Democrats’ “anger” over Pulte being named “prompted an almost unanimous retreat from the emerging deal” on Friday, said The New York Times. The failed vote reflected “growing unease” with Pulte’s having led a “campaign of retribution” on Trump’s behalf while leading the Federal Housing Finance Agency, as well as his “lack of national security experience.”

Democrats are now “threatening to let the government’s spy powers lapse,” said Axios. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) has suggested that Democrats would “vote en masse against renewing FISA” because of Pulte, said Punchbowl News. 

It’s “absolutely outrageous” that Democrats would “try to play politics right now,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) at a press conference last week. Among Republicans, however, opponents of the FISA renewal include “longstanding surveillance skeptics” who have been “some of the loudest voices within the conference” advocating for stronger warrant rules, said Politico.

What next?
Once “on track to pass a compromise bill after protracted negotiations” with Democrats, Republicans now “believe the renewal could be held up” past the June 12 deadline, said Reuters. The White House should “plan for a potential significant gap in foreign intelligence collection,” said Senators Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) in a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio this past weekend.

In their letter, the Republican senators “blamed the situation ​on Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer,” said Reuters. However, on “one level,” the letter means they are “acknowledging reality,” said Connecticut Rep. Jim Himes (D) on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” Pulte’s appointment has “taken 702 reauthorization off the table.”

A needle-free universal vaccine may soon be on the horizon. Scientists have successfully run the first trial, which showed the vaccine can safely elicit an immune response to several viruses. But more research is needed before it’s approved for widespread use, so larger trials are now planned.

How was the vaccine developed?
This is the first human-tested inoculation in which the active component was designed by computer simulations, according to a study published in the Journal of Infection. The vaccine has an AI-created “super-antigen,” a “protein that mimics shared features across multiple coronaviruses, rather than targeting a single specific strain, which can trigger the body’s immune system to fight a broad array of pathogens,” said Euronews. 

“Viruses like influenza, coronaviruses and the Ebola group are evolving continuously, and by the time vaccines are rolled out, they may be poorly matched,” said the study’s chief investigator, Saul Faust, in a news release. But this new universal vaccine is “future-proofed,” as it not only protects “against many variants simultaneously” but also “potentially against related viruses that haven’t yet emerged.” 

The vaccine is needle-free, administered through a microfluidic jet that “uses a high-pressure, hair-thin stream of liquid to push vaccine blueprints directly into skin cells,” said Sky News. Without needles, it has greater “global applicability,” said Euronews. And it doesn’t have to be kept as cold as traditional vaccines, making it “well-suited for use in low- and middle-income countries.”

Is it effective on humans?
The vaccine has already shown promise in humans. In the first clinical trial, it was “well tolerated at all four doses with no significant safety concerns elicited,” said the study. It also “triggered immune responses in the volunteers not only to SARS-CoV-2 and SARS” but also to “related bat viruses that could potentially jump from animals to humans and cause future pandemics,” said the release.

However, the “magnitude of the response was limited and did not increase predictably with higher doses,” though this is likely influenced by prior Covid-19 exposure and vaccination history among participants, said the study. A larger Phase 2 trial will “assess the vaccine’s ability to induce immune responses in a wider and more diverse population,” said the release.

Youths gather in front of a burning barricade in Belfast, Northern Ireland, during a wave of anti-immigration protests following a knife attack in the city on Monday night. The stabbing was allegedly committed by a Sudanese national recently granted refugee status in the U.K.
Charles McQuillan / Getty Images

Ice is central to the making of any cocktail — unless it’s a hot one. In the playland of frozen drinks, though, ice plays an all-the-more crucial role. It doesn’t simply chill then bolt for the sink. Ice becomes integral to the lush texture of a blended cocktail. These frozen reconsiderations of classic cocktails are summer manna.

Frozen Caribbean Coffee
What happens when Irish coffee, tres leches cake and spiced coconut syrup take a trip to the islands? You get a lively, luxurious blended drink that merges a mixture of sweetened condensed milk and whole milk (2 parts) with an egg, coffee liqueur (¾ part), rum (½ part), brandy (½ part) and a heady masala-coconut syrup (¾ part). 

Frozen Negroni
A Negroni is always an appetite-whetter. Come summer, one wants it to do double duty by dragging it into refreshing territory too. Freeze the base combination of gin (4½ parts), Campari (2½ parts) and sweet vermouth (2½ parts) for at least eight hours. Then blend that with ice in a blender. 

Paloma Slushy
A handful of ingredients turn a classic paloma into a summertime icon for you and three pals. Start by freezing together grapefruit juice (2 parts) and lime juice (1 part) for a chunk of time. Toss the frozen juices in a blender along with tequila (1½ parts), sugar (¼ cup) and ice (4 cups). And if you like, line the rims of those glasses with salt.